Ain't It Enough
by Caught In A Simple Game
Summary: She was the one bit of Heaven he found in a world that had become Hell. Daryl/OC.
1. Trouble That I'm In

**Warnings for OOC, creative licensing, language, fluff, and some naughty things in future chapters. Story and chapter titles pulled from Old Crow Medicine Show songs.**

* * *

_Oh no, the trouble that I'm in  
Good times are over I got whiskers on my chin  
And there's a long lonely road, boys  
I'll be travellin'  
So long, tell my troubles to the wind_**  
**

"Oh, shit."

Daryl Dixon would never be able to figure out how he got himself in this mess. For all of his tracking and killing experience, he never would have thought he would be the one in the middle of the path of what he guessed to be about twenty walkers, and with no one to back up his escape. The ammunition in his gun and all the arrows he could find wouldn't save him from this one; there were just too many.

Of course, that didn't mean he would just give in and give up. No, he wasn't the type for that. Daryl darted out of their path, hiding behind a nearby boulder. He loaded an arrow into his crossbow, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

He stood up and took aim at the walker right at the front of the herd. God, there were a shitload of them. Daryl figured if he could use the bow and gun on most of them, he would be able to take out the others up close.

Just as the arrow sailed through what was left of the skull and brain of that walker, another fell towards the back of the pack, then another. He hadn't heard a gunshot but the way the second walker's head burst – no way it was anything else.

Daryl wasn't going to ask questions right away. These days, it was survive now, ask later. Between himself and the sniper, it took just over a minute to cut all the walkers down.

When he was sure they were all dead, Daryl stood up and looked around. Where the hell was this person sniping walkers like it was a day job? He had just about given it up when he heard a pair of boots hit the ground.

"You hurt?" a female voice asked.

Shitfire, the person who had saved his life was a _woman_. He raised his brow and pointed to the trees.

"You mean to tell me you're the one who sniped them sons of bitches?"

The young woman frowned. "I asked you a question, damn it. Did any of those fuckers get at you?"

Her Southern accent was an unexpected comfort. Her hazel eyes searched over him for any sign of injury as she pushed a lock of hair out of her face. Daryl could see it was naturally dark but had been bleached by the sun.

"I'm fixin' to snipe you next if you don't answer my fucking question," she warned, aiming her gun at him.

Daryl held his hands up in surrender. "They didn't touch me."

She considered him momentarily before lowering her weapon. She threw the rifle over her shoulder and nodded before turning and walking in the other direction.

"Hey, wait," Daryl said, running to catch up with her. She spooked when he touched her shoulder, spinning fast and decking him across the mouth. "Hot damn, woman! I'm not trying to attack you!"

With a sigh and a flustered roll of her eyes, she dropped her bags and knelt down beside him. She pulled a rag and a bottle of water from her pack and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"I'm sorry. My daddy had a habit of putting angry hands on me. Fiancé did the same thing. I was never smart enough not to fight back." She handed him the bottle and he took a deep swig from him. "Name's Macyn. Macyn Ballard."

Daryl dropped the empty bottle and held out his hand. "Daryl Dixon. You on your own out here, Macyn Ballard?"

She nodded, gathering her things and offering a hand to help him up. "I am. What about you?"

"Came ahead to scout the area. Those walkers came out of nowhere."

Macyn nodded. "They tend to do that. Your group is following?"

"We're right here," another man spoke up. "You all right, Daryl?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. This is Macyn Ballard - she helped me out when this group came through. Macyn, that's Rick and Lori Grimes, their son Carl. Dale, Andrea, T-Dawg, Carol, Glenn."

Macyn nodded a greeting. "Where are y'all staying?"

Rick shrugged. "Wherever we can."

Macyn considered the group, then a smirk pulled one end of her mouth up. "I've got a place for you."

The group had a silent discussion before nodding and following Macyn. It was a good thirty minute walk, but they finally came to a clearing where a small farmhouse stood. Macyn walked right up the steps and into the house. The others followed.

"This is your place?" Dale asked.

"Kind of," Macyn answered flatly as she moved them towards what looked like a basement door. When she opened it though, there was a metal door that required a code to open. "Five-six-one-two. You've got to have it to get out, too."

They followed her down the stairs, Glenn making sure that the door was shut tight behind them. There was another door at the bottoms of those stairs and beyond it - utopia.

It was like an underground mansion. Television, radio, kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms. They all walked around in awe, trying to figure out how they had lucked out on crossing paths with Macyn Ballard.

"There's an air filtering system through the vents, so nobody dies of contaminated air. Water - hot and cold - works like it was just installed. Better hope that doesn't go out because I don't really know how it works. There's electricity, and all of the DVDs, CDs, and books you need to keep you busy. Game console for the kids."

"Why are you doing this for us?" Andrea asked.

Macyn shrugged. "Never been much good at being alone. Fiancé went out over two weeks ago, looking for anything that would give us meat. Never came back, so I'm guessing he's dead." She hopped up on the kitchen counter and let out a deep breath. "He was a doomsday prepper. We have enough energy and food - all of that kind of thing - to last ten people for five years. Willy Slater has been preparing for this time since we were fifteen. I thought he was crazy. When shit first hit the fan, he looked me straight in the eye and said, I told you so."

"What about the other eight people? They show up, they're going to be angry you took on others," Rick advised.

"They won't be coming," Macyn assured. "My daddy did himself in before it even reached our county. Mama was already dead, since I was a little girl. Willy's parents, his three brothers and his mama's parents were supposed to be coming up from Alabama, but they didn't even make it into North Carolina before the dead overtook the highway they were on. We saw it on one of the last broadcasts they sent out."

This woman had literally lost everybody she had left. At least the people in the group had each other. After thanking her again, Macyn encouraged them all to pick a room and make themselves comfortable. She went about fixing some supper while the rest of them got cleaned up and settled in.

They told brief versions of their stories around the dinner table. Macyn listened with earnest, unaware of a pair of blue eyes casually staring at her from across the table. Daryl was grateful for what she had done in the woods, no doubt about that. Still, he had questions - like what that petite person was doing out in the woods on her own, and how she had survived this long with little to no help. He didn't know why, but it was irritating him.

He waited for everyone to be in bed; the questions kept pinging around in his brain. Finally, Daryl pushed himself out of his bed and made way for her room. He knocked lightly on the door, and she answered it a few seconds later.

"What were you doing out there? You've got everything you need right here, so why would you go out there?" Daryl pressed her.

Macyn opened the door wider and walked back to sit on her bed. "First of all, there's no sunlight down here. The air is healthy but it isn't the same as the fresh air outside. Like I said, we don't have any meat down here. And, you know, I thought maybe I would find Willy on his way back - if not Willy, anyone else so I wasn't alone."

Daryl's nagging questions were answered, and with no sketchy answers. He leaned in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't think I ever thanked you, for saving my life today."

Macyn shrugged. "It was the right thing to do."

"Just the same," Daryl answered. "Get up with me in the morning, we'll go find something for meat. Squirrels, rabbits, deer. Something."

Macyn nodded but didn't say anything. Daryl pursed his lips like he had something else to say, but instead he shut the door behind him, leaving her alone for the night.

.&.

It was barely light out when Macyn knocked on the door to the room Daryl had claimed for his own. She waited a few seconds and, when he didn't respond, she slowly turned the knob and walked into the room.

The light was still on; she couldn't blame him for that one. She still slept with a small lamp on, but it had taken her a couple of months to get down to that after everything started going to shit. He was laying on his stomach, one arm hanging off the bed and the other folded up under his head. He was shirtless, but it looked like he at least still had pants on.

"Daryl," she called loud enough for him to hear, but soft enough for it to not be a rude awakening. "It's mornin'."

He groaned a little bit before burying his face down in the pillow. Macyn swallowed and ventured closer to the bed to put a hand on his arm. She caressed gently, telling him they could go out the next morning if he wanted to sleep longer. Daryl rolled over, his hand catching hers as he went and pulling her into the bed with him.

"You smell good, darlin'," he whispered just seconds before she again heard the deep even sounds of breathing, signaling that he was asleep.

Macyn was frozen in place. Obviously Daryl had no idea what he was doing – he was too far gone into sleep for that – but she couldn't help but feel safer than she had in years there with his arm draped possessively over her hip. She couldn't stay here, like this. She'd fall asleep, and there'd be too many questions to answer the next day.

Slowly, Macyn crept out from under his arm and away from the bed. "Daryl."

This time he heard her and shot up straight in bed. "The hell …"

"Sorry," she swallowed. "Was trying not to wake you up too harsh. Are you up for a hunt or you want to sleep?"

"We can go," Daryl told her, sitting up and rubbing his hands over his face.

Macyn nodded and told him she would meet him at the door. She left a note on the table for the others, grabbed her equipment and tried to shake that feeling of being close to a man who wasn't hurting her. She had always wondered how that would feel, just never knew until now.

"All right," Daryl said, dressed and ready to go. "Let's find some meat."

One of the things Macyn had gotten used to over the years was men doing the things they do and then acting like it didn't happen, but she was still trying to decide if Daryl was aware or not of what had happened in his bedroom. He was acting so cavalier; her father and Willy Slater would usually have that cautious look in their eye after a good beating. By the time they walked out of the house, she decided that Daryl had no idea that he had pulled her into bed with him and held her close.

"You wanna keep daydreaming or are we going to talk about what we're looking for here?" Daryl asked with condescension.

Macyn narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm sorry, I thought when we talked about hunting for meat it was clear what we were looking for."

"I'm just saying, keep your eyes open. I'm not tryin' to return any favors today."

Macyn clammed up after that. No point in arguing when he was, in an irritating kind of way, telling her to be safe. The walk was quicker with just the two of them, and before long they were back in the woods.

"Not many deer come through," Macyn told him quietly. "Rabbits and squirrels mostly."

Daryl rolled his eyes. "That would be what I wanted you to tell me when I said let's talk about what we're looking for."

"You want to argue about this now?" Macyn challenged. She nudged him to their left where a deer was nudging around some brush. "We got lucky today."

Daryl seemed to wait for her to take aim, but she motioned for him to go ahead. He smirked an appreciation and loaded his crossbow. The deer stepped into the perfect line of sight; a few seconds later, the animal was dead on the ground.

"Ha, it's going to be a great supper tonight. You know how to clean one of these things?"

Macyn nodded. "Yes. I had a brother once – he taught me a lot."

"Good. Let's get this done so we can get back to the house."

Between the two of them, they managed good time in cleaning the deer and butchering it. They each loaded up with different pieces and made way back to the house.

"How is it that you don't seem to have any walkers around here?" Daryl asked.

Macyn shrugged. "They come through every now and then – more at night, of course. That group we took down yesterday was the biggest I've seen in this area. There isn't much around for miles. Everybody's dead or walking. Guess they figured that out."

Daryl looked her over once more. In the daylight, when he wasn't seconds from death and could take a decent look at her, Macyn Ballard was even easier on the eyes. The more she talked, the more at ease he felt. She certainly wasn't the first woman who had ever made him feel this way, although never under these circumstances. Daryl was a firm believer that survival was number one now, and anything else was simply a distraction.

That didn't stop him from glancing down to where the low v-neck of her shirt dipped between her breasts. For a small woman, she was very well proportioned – he could tell that from the front and the back view.

Daryl was fighting that cell in his brain that told him it was more than good breasts and a tight ass pulling him towards this woman. Maybe he hadn't realized at first what he was doing when he pulled her into that bed next to him, but even once he did, he hadn't wanted to let her go. The way she smelled, the way her body fit against his – he wanted her there with him.

_Oh, shit._

* * *

**A/N: I just started watching TWD - I'm at the beginning of the second season but I'm entirely addicted. If I could ignore work and school and just catch up on the series over the next couple of days, I would. In the meantime, I'll be writing this little story. Keep in mind the warnings at the beginning of this chapter! Thanks for reading.**


	2. Let It Alone

_Well, at this time, I'm gonna tell you_

_What's the wisest plan_

_When it comes to mixing in with things_

_That you just don't understand, hmm_

_Let it alone, let it alone_

The Atlanta group were getting used to their new quarters. The deer was used sparingly and lasted them for more than a week. The underground resort gave everyone some semblance of home and normalcy, and it raised morale.

Every day, Macyn and Daryl went out to scout a new part of the land. Nine days after they had first crossed paths with Macyn, there were now two of them well aware of the layout of the land. The others would learn in time, but for now, it was enough.

Macyn was folding laundry when Daryl knocked on the frame of what served as the doorway to a laundry room. Well, it was more of a nook, really, but it served its purpose.

She turned around and smiled. He had seen smirks and hints of a smile before, but this was the first time he had really seen her smile. She had a dimple at the top of one cheek and in this light her hazel eyes looked more green than brown.

"It's a little late in the day for you to be bugging me, don't you think?" Macyn teased.

Daryl managed something between a smirk and a smile. "You're in a good mood."

She shut the door to the dryer and turned to face him, leaning against the machine. She bit her lip and shrugged.

"I like having y'all here. It has been a _hell _of a long time since I have been around people who cared about each other and looked out for someone's well-being besides their own. Ironic enough that it has to happen in times like these, but I think I might actually be happy."

"You must have had quite a life," Daryl noted. "I was thinking of taking a swim down in the pond. Maybe you could join me and we'll talk about it? What do you say?"

Macyn nodded. "I say, hell yeah!"

Daryl waited for her to finish folding laundry, then they alerted the others that they were leaving the house for a while.

At the pond, Macyn wasted no time in shedding her shorts before pushing her jeans down her legs in one clean motion with her socks and boots. It was over a hundred degrees outside, and the cool water felt good on her skin. She dipped her head under and when she came back up, Daryl was just staring from the grass.

Macyn chuckled. "You never seen a woman in a bikini before, or what? Get your redneck ass in here!"

"That's not exactly what I would call a bikini," Daryl said in reference to her sports bra and cheeky panties. He shed his own shirt and kicked off his footwear before joining her in the water.

Macyn waited for him to drop his own head under water and come back up. "All right, so what do you wanna know?"

Daryl shrugged, splashing water on his bare arms and chest. "You said your mama died. What happened to her?"

"My daddy," Macyn answered. "He broke more than bones when it came to her. He broke her spirit - broke her heart. And that's what killed her."

"Sounds like your parents were just as good as mine," Daryl muttered out. "Had a brother, too. He was in and out of detention centers, but I guess he tried while he was around. Not like we had a good example."

Macyn nodded while she chased a fish in the water. "Damn, missed it. My brother was a good man. A good eight years older than me but he looked out for me. Wasn't anything he could do when my daddy was angry, but afterward, he always made sure I was all right. Can't count the number of times he set broken arms for me. Fingers and toes, too. Doctored bloody lips and iced a bruised face."

"Why isn't he here?"

Macyn grew quiet and swam the rest of the way to the other side of the pond. Daryl followed her, both curious and concerned over her sudden hesitation to answer. He watched from a few feet away while she settled right on the grass, feet in the water.

"Killed in Iraq when I was sixteen. That really sent Daddy over the edge. I got it good for that."

Daryl moved closer to her in the water. He didn't know what to say to that. He had lost Merle, but it wasn't the same. Daryl had everything he needed to fend for himself, but not Macyn. Her brother had left her to fend for herself with her father and then Willy Slater.

"I'm sorry that happened to you."

Macyn's eyes grew; she stood slowly and pointed behind Daryl. He could only assume the worst. Sure enough, when he turned around, three walkers were sliding down the small embankment and into the pond.

When he turned back around, Macyn was gone. He yelled for her to no avail. Cursing her out loud, he tried to quickly devise a plan; his crossbow was on the other side of the pond along with Macyn's gun. Both had been shed along with their clothes.

He decided the best thing to do would be to run them back out of the water and around to where he could get to the weapons. These walkers though, they were fast. He scrambled out of the water and grabbed for the grass to help him out of the pond. He was in the grass and the three of them out of the pond when he tripped on a tree root. He felt a slimy, decaying hand wrap around his ankle.

And then he heard the gunshots. One, two, three – one right after the other, the walkers fell dead at his feet. Daryl set his forehead to the ground and let out a sigh of relief. Turning back behind him, he saw Macyn, still soaking wet and hardly clothed, barrel of her gun still smoking.

"Sorry to leave you out as bait," she said, coming around to help him up. "I ducked under and swam across, on the far bank. Was the only way I could see to keep both of us alive."

Daryl pulled himself up out of the dirt and nodded. He said nothing as he walked back to the far side of the pond and pulled his shirt back on. With his crossbow over his shoulder again, he started the walk back to the house.

Macyn's clothes were back on and her gun in hand. She ran to catch up with him, grabbing on to his arm and pulling him back. "I'm sorry, Daryl. Look, just forgive me, all right? I can't have you mad at me. The others are great but you and me - we're alike. You get it more than they do."

He pushed Macyn's hand away from his arm and tried to decide exactly what he was going to say to her. He could let her down gently, but the look in her eye told him that wasn't going get the job done.

"It was a mistake to come out here with you, Macyn. I won't lie to you – I wanted to hear everything you told me to say. Been fighting the last nine days to pretend like I could give a shit less. I do it just fine with all those other people and I have known them a helluva lot longer than I known you. Was too attached to my piece of shit brother, and he disappeared. I'm not going to get attached to anyone else. Thanks for saving my life, twice, but just keep in mind that I ain't your concern."

"Where the fuck is that even coming from?" Macyn demanded.

"Don't fuckin' worry about it," Daryl snapped at her. "Just keep your mouth shut and let's get back to the house."

.&.

Well, there it was, that moment that Macyn had been waiting for. She'd gotten overly-attached to Daryl Dixon in the last nine days. She could sit and chastise herself for it, but time was a different thing now. You could meet a person one day and when they died the next, feel like a piece of your heart was forever missing. The bonds between the living were formed differently now, and quicker.

After the walker attack at the pond, though, he had been harsh to her – hell, he'd been asshole. Macyn supposed she should have seen it coming. Both her father and Willy Slater had loved her at one point in time, but that all changed. Just as she had quickly attached herself to Daryl, he had quickly turned on her.

.&.

Daryl sat down to the supper table, dreading the look he knew he would see on Macyn's face. That same look that had been on her face when he dismissed her earlier; hurt, frustrated, and confused. He deserved it but that didn't mean he wanted to see it.

But when everyone sat down and started dishing out their food, Macyn's chair was the only empty one at the table. Daryl frowned and asked if she was joining them or not.

"Said she wasn't feeling well," Lori answered.

"Just since she came back from the pond with you," Andrea added, looking at him with strong suspicions. "She wasn't hurt during that attack, so I wonder what happened."

Daryl raised his brow. "Y'all think I did something to her? Maybe I don't go ape-shit if I catch some man putting his hands on a woman, but that don't mean I'm one to do it, either."

"No one said anything like that," Rick spoke up. "Did you two argue?"

"Something like that," Daryl answered. "Look, it's my business if I want to distance myself from someone or not. All this bullshit that's gone down since the world went to hell – last thing I need is worry about one more breathing being."

He dug into his food then, signaling to the others that he was done with this conversation. They all moved on to another subject, and Daryl was grateful for that. He felt guilty enough without their accusing eyes staring him down.

.&.

Macyn sat on her bed, knees drawn to her chest. She looked at the last picture she had ever taken with her brother. She had thought life was hard then; she'd give anything now to be worried about if any boy was going to be able to look past her bruises to ask her to the homecoming dance. It had all felt so incredibly unfair when they got word that Robbie had been killed overseas; her father's beating had almost been a welcome reprieve from the pains he was feeling at the time over the loss of her brother.

She wished Robbie was here now, to help her understand what Daryl had said to her. Then again, if Robbie were around, she wouldn't have gotten so close to Daryl.

At the sound of a knock on her door, Macyn quickly shoved the picture into a drawer on her nightstand and bid the knocker to enter.

"You missed a good supper," Daryl told her, shutting the door behind him. "Last bit of the deer."

Macyn shrugged. "Not hungry anyway."

He sighed. "Look, Macyn, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. Shouldn't have said it the way I did."

"But you still meant it."

He sat down at the foot of the bed. "You've been bunkered down here so long, you don't know what it's like out there. We seen so many people get killed, I don't ever expect to see these people live another day. When those walkers showed up today, then I turned around and you were gone, I panicked. Scared the shit out of me thinking they could get to you before I could. When I saw you were okay – that was an entirely different kind of panic. I was so relieved that you were okay and I'm not really sure how I feel about caring about that so strong. Not after nine days. Don't mean to put you off, but I have to distance myself from wherever this was at."

Macyn couldn't fault him for that. "Self-preservation?"

Daryl nodded. "Pretty much."

"Fair enough. Thanks for explaining it to me."

Daryl nodded and made for the door. "How'd you think to swim under to get across, by the way? You thought of that fast."

"Always been a quick-thinker. In school they told my Daddy I was grades ahead of my age."

Daryl hesitated still to open that door. "I hope you know I'm pulling away not because I want to."

"But you have to," Macyn finished. "I get it."

He mumbled a good night, closing the door behind him. He stood outside her door for just a minute, waiting to hear her cry just like his mother had done when his father broke her heart time and time again.

In the two minutes Daryl stood outside her room, all he heard was a light switch turn off and the lamp switched on before the mattress rustled and the room went silent.

.&.

Over the next few days, they kept their distance, interacting only when entirely necessary. They hunted together once more but without any of the friendly banter.

When the need for meat arose again, Macyn opted to get up early and go out by herself. She had done it before, so there was no need to worry she would be anything other than fine.

She was forty-five minutes gone and well into the woods tracking another deer when she heard the forest floor crackle to her left. Freezing for just a moment, Macyn listened whether or not the noise was coming her way; certainly, it was.

Cursing herself for coming out alone when she had several perfectly good people to back her up at the house, she kept running in the direction she had been going. She would lose the deer, but without a silencer on her gun, one shot could attract every walker for miles – then she would really have a mess on her hands.

When the sound got too close, she ducked behind a bush, waiting for it to pass. The two men who emerged into her line of sight weren't walkers, but she recognized one. For him, she would stay behind that bush overnight if she had to do it.

It took several minutes for them to pass, but as soon as they did, Macyn scurried out from behind the bush, ready to head back to the house and hide away.

As careful as she was, the branch she stepped on and snapped caught her off-guard. Before she could turn around, she heard the footsteps running back in her direction. Maybe if she just pretended like nothing had happened; like she didn't know they were there …

"Macyn? Macyn Ballard, that you? Girl, I got a bone to pick with you."

.&.

By nightfall, Macyn hadn't returned and none of them liked it. They were too far out of earshot to hear a gun go off. The group had a decision to make.

"We leave her out there overnight, it's a death sentence," T-Dawg spoke up. "She gave us shelter, food – all of this we have now, Macyn gave that to us."

"It's too dangerous to go out in the dark," Andrea chimed in.

"We leave her out there, it could be Sophia all over again," Carol chimed in with a sad voice. "We owe Macyn at least a brief search before we give it up until morning."

The mention of Sophia – a harsh loss for the group – hit everyone. Perspectives took a different shape. They decided that Rick, T-Dawg, and Daryl would go out and look for her.

"You've been out here with her before," Rick told Daryl. "You show us where she would go."

Daryl agreed and took to the front of the group. He kept his crossbow and flashlight trained in front of him, but his thoughts weren't exactly focused on the task at hand. The event he had feared – the reason he had pulled away from – it was happening. He wanted to find Macyn, but not if she was going to be anything other than the woman who had saved him in the woods that day and in the pond not so long after.


	3. Evening Sun

Well I hate to see that evening sun go down

Well it's lonesome coming down my trail

Well I know this train will take me where I'm bound

But I hate to see that evening sun go down

A forty-five minute search turned up nothing but a few walkers roaming the woods. The three men put them down quickly and headed back for the house.

"If nothing else, we did her a favor getting rid of those geeks," T-Dawg said when they had locked that door at the bottom of the stairs behind them.

Rick and Daryl both nodded, bidding the man goodnight. Daryl sat at the kitchen table, rubbing his hand over his forehead.

"Wish we could have searched for longer," he muttered.

Rick put his hands on his hips. "First light, we'll go out again. Macyn knows these woods. She'll be able to take care of herself."

"We told ourselves Sophia would be able to take care of herself, too."

"Sophia was a twelve-year-old, scared, little girl," Rick argued. "We told ourselves that to keep hope alive. Saying that about Macyn, that's just the way things are." He paused. "You want to tell me why she would go out hunting without you, anyway?"

"Do I ever want to talk about anything?" Daryl shot back. "Macyn's an adult – she went out on her own because she wanted to, end of fucking discussion."

For once, Rick decided he was going to push Daryl. "I don't pretend like you and I are old buddies, Daryl, but we've all gotten to know each other. We can tell when someone has something on their mind. Why don't you tell me what's on your mind concerning Macyn."

Daryl shoved out of the chair he was sitting in. "She came out of nowhere, Rick. I mean, _fuck_. After Merle, I didn't want to give a shit about anybody. Didn't want to act like I cared. Macyn broke that down like she was – I don't even know what. And I couldn't have that. Told her I needed distance – told her it was self-preservation. It's my fault she's out there on her own. It's my fault she could be one of them now."

"You did what you thought was best. I understand that more than anyone." He put a hand on Daryl's shoulder. "See you first thing."

Daryl nodded and watched while Rick disappeared down the hall to the room he shared with Lori and Carl. Daryl was torn between going back out on his own, but Macyn doing that was what got them in this predicament in the first place. Knowing he wouldn't sleep much, Daryl also walked down the hallway to his room.

.&.

"Wake your ass up, dumb bitch."

The rude greeting was accompanied by a foot pushing her over. Macyn groaned and forced herself to wake up. Her eye was nearly swollen shut, her lip was cut and bleeding, and she was pretty sure she had some cracked ribs.

Willy Slater had been less than thrilled to find that Macyn had done anything but either die looking for him or keep on the search every day until she found him. She had never shrunk down to his beatings before, and the night before had been no different. Of course, the more she fought, the worse it was. Hence her current physical state.

According to Willy, he had slid down an embankment and busted his head on a rock – Macyn figured it wasn't hard enough to do her any good – causing him to become disoriented. He fought his way out of the woods on the other side and found himself at the gate of a makeshift city, where they took him in and doctored him up. Once Willy was hydrated and had his strength back, he tried living in that city for a while before the man with him had convinced him that they should leave and go back to the underground paradise Willy kept talking about. Only problem was, past the woods, Willy had no memory of which direction he needed to go to get back home.

When he stumbled across Macyn's path, Willy thought he was home free. Once she figured out his game though, she refused to lead him back to the house. She didn't tell him anyone else was there – not that she had the chance before the fighting started.

"You better get her to tell you where we're goin'," the other man called. "I'm not waiting much longer before I try to find it myself."

"Be patient, Merle," Willy answered. "She'll break down. She always does."

Merle … Macyn knew that name. She knew that name and she knew it paired with that almost familiar voice; a voice similar to one she had come to know very well. She just had to put the pieces together; somehow she knew it would be her saving grace.

Macyn spent the whole day in a feigned catatonic silence. She had the puzzle pieces; she just had to put them together. It was closing in on sundown once again, and Macyn's injuries were growing in number, thanks to both Willy and Merle.

The realization came to her out of nowhere. Her head and her ears were ringing from a backhand from Merle when the name tumbled off her tongue.

"Merle Dixon."

The man's raised hand stopped inches away from her. "What did you say to me?"

"I know who you are," Macyn told him. Her voice was hoarse but she knew Merle heard her from the look on his face. "Merle Dixon from north Georgia. You have a brother named Daryl."

Merle crouched in front of her. "Keep talking."

"He and his group are at the house Willy's been telling you about," Macyn continued. "I'll take you there – I'll take you to Daryl – but only if you and Willy keep your fucking filthy hands off of me."

Merle stood slowly and spit on the ground. "You got my word."

He extended his hand; Macyn shook it. Instead of releasing her hand, Merle helped her up off the ground.

"Did I tell you to stand up?" Willy snarled, making a beeline for where Macyn was now standing. Before he could get too close, Merle stepped in front of her and pushed Willy away. "The hell is wrong with you?"

Merle held up his hand. "She knows where my brother is. This bitch is yours, I get that. Till I find my brother though, you don't touch her."

He turned back to Macyn and tilted his head back as though he had already waited too long for her to start leading them to the house.

"I want my gun."

"No chance," Willy chuckled.

"You want to find that damn house, you need me alive," Macyn argued. "I want the gun."

Willy and Merle exchanged looks; it was Merle who finally handed her weapon over. She mumbled a 'thanks' before taking off in the right direction.

.&.

Another search had come up with nothing but some spattered blood. If it was Macyn's, they all knew what that could mean.

"So what, do we just stay here?" Lori asked. "It isn't our place."

"Who's going to kick us out?" Glenn asked, earning him glares from some and questioning looks from the others. "You guys were thinking it, I just said it."

"We should stay for now," Dale pitched in. "On the off-chance she comes back, we'll ask Macyn what she wants to do. But, I think she wanted us here – no harm in staying."

"I agree with Dale," Andrea nodded. "We've got a good thing here, and we were welcomed into it."

While the rest of the group discussed it, Daryl sat a few feet away, trying to figure out his opinion on the whole thing. Staying would mean daily reminders of Macyn, of what he could have had, even for that short time. Going would mean being back in constant danger, eating raw squirrels and hoping he woke up alive the next morning. His thoughts did little more than frustrate him.

"I'm going to get some fresh air," he excused himself, heading up the stairs and out into the house.

There was a rocking chair on the front porch; Daryl sat himself in it, wondering when the last time he took to just sit and think was. These days, there was never much time for thinking, just do, do, do. He looked out at the horizon to where the sun was setting and felt his hope decrease with every moment the sun slowly began to disappear from sight.

He had only been out for fifteen minutes when three bodies came into view. He ran back in the house and yelled down the stairs for the others to come up. He trained his arrow at the one in the middle – that person looked most like a walker. Not the other two, though. The other two looked like strong, capable men. One of them was familiar, even from a distance.

"Baby brother," Merle yelled as they got closer. "Put that weapon down, this girl's still alive."

Daryl frowned and tried to decide if what he was seeing was real or not. "Merle?"

The older brother laughed and rushed up the steps to embrace his brother. Daryl hugged him back, forgetting momentarily that there was another man and a woman in tow with Merle.

"Where have you been?" Daryl asked. "You disappeared from Atlanta."

Merle nodded. "Made for another camp, whatever I could find that would take me. Found a city, Daryl. They've got everything – a government, police – a _foundation_."

Daryl raised his brow. "So why'd you leave?"

"When have you ever known me to be able to follow the rules for long?" Merle returned. "Willy Slater and I left, came to find this utopia he said he's got. Make good on our own."

Daryl frowned. "Willy Slater? Was that the man with you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"He's not good people, brother. The woman who brought us here – she saved my life. She's Willy's fiancée, but he beats the shit out of her regularly."

"I spent last night in the woods with that woman. Willy and I were trying to get her to tell us how to get here. She is the most stubborn cooze I've ever met," Merle laughed. "Willy's just handling his own. Show me what we're working with here. Come on now, welcome your brother properly."

Daryl looked back at the group before following Merle into the house. Rick and Andrea were helping Macyn into the house; he could see she was in bad shape – and that was putting it lightly.

"Macyn …"

When she turned to look at him, he could see even more injuries. She lifted her arm from Rick's shoulders momentarily to wipe the blood from her lip and shook her head.

"Don't, Daryl. Just … don't."

.&.

Lori was coming out of Macyn's room when Daryl came down the hallway. Lori looked at him and gently shut the door behind her.

"She isn't ready for visitors," Lori told him plainly.

"How is she? She gonna be okay?"

Lori folded the wet washcloth in her hands. "She's pretty bruised and banged up, but I think her ribs are only cracked. They'll heal in a couple weeks if she takes it easy."

Daryl nodded. "That's good. I just wanted to see that she's gonna make it."

"Daryl," Lori called softly after him. He turned back. "Macyn said it wasn't just Willy beating her out there. Merle had a pretty good hand in it, too."

He rolled his eyes. "Y'all know how Merle is. What do you want me to do – say something to him? He's my brother for fuck's sake. What's done is done."

With that, he stormed off to his room and slammed the door behind him. Daryl wasn't about to let on that the moment he saw Macyn and realized Willy Slater had his claws in her again, he became torn between – if he was honest with himself – killing Willy Slater and telling Merle to fuck off, and letting the whole thing be. Obviously he had chosen the latter, but he couldn't help regretting his decision.

He slept restlessly throughout the night. He kept dreaming about Macyn in the woods, getting knocked down over and over by Willy and Merle, and Daryl unable to stop them. He had dreams about her dying and then reanimating; those were the worst. When he woke, he realized that pushing her away may have more detrimental than opening up to her would have been.

Steps in the hallway finally pulled him from his bed much earlier than normal the next morning. He pulled a shirt over his head and slipped into his boots before opening the door. Lori was there, outside of Macyn's room with a glass of water.

"Bringing her medicine?" Daryl asked.

Lori shook her head. "She had some pain killers a couple of hours ago. She's dehydrated though, so I'm trying to keep her drinking a glass or two of water every hour."

Daryl nodded. "Mind if I take that one in there?"

Lori considered him carefully; she had watched Daryl and Macyn closely over the first couple of weeks the group was staying in the underground refuge. She thought that maybe the younger woman would breakthrough his rough exterior, but that was before Daryl pulled back from her.

"I just want to talk to her," Daryl continued. "Please."

With a hesitant sigh, Lori handed him the glass of water. Daryl gave a curt nod as a thanks. He knocked lightly on the door before entering.

Macyn was staring at the ceiling; he could see the silent tears falling down her cheeks. At the light coming in from the hallway she hurried to cover herself and sat up as best she could.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked.

Daryl frowned. "The hell, Macyn? You've had people coming in and out of here at all hours – they couldn't even get you in clean clothes?"

Macyn couldn't look at him. "Just leave the water, all right?"

"There's something else, isn't there?" Daryl was putting the pieces together. She was weak with her injuries and dehydration, and now he walked in to find her naked? "Tell me I'm wrong in what I'm thinking."

Macyn glared at him. "You don't know what you're thinking, Daryl. You pushed me away, remember? Now you want to care because Willy Slater showed back up? You sure as hell didn't give two shits when I showed up with Merle and Willy, beat all to fuck."

"I thought he was dead," Daryl argued.

"What was it you told me after the pond that day? 'I ain't your concern.' Well, guess what. I ain't _your _concern, neither. Leave the water and get the hell out."

"Macyn, I'm trying."

"You're trying too late," she bit back.

Daryl knew she was right. It might keep him from trying now, but it wouldn't keep him from trying altogether. Slowly and averting his eyes, he set the glass of water on her nightstand and left the room.


	4. Methamphetamine

_It's gonna rock you like a hurricane_

_It's gonna rock you 'til you lose sleep_

_It's gonna rock you 'til you're out of a job_

_It's gonna rock you 'til you're out on the street_

_It's gonna rock you 'til you're down on your knees_

_It's gonna have you begging pretty please_

_It's gonna rock you like a hurricane_

_Methamphetamine_

Macyn waited for Willy to leave the room before scrambling to put her clothes back on. It had been like this for a long time, before the infection hit, and not usually when others were around. Not when she was as hurt as she was. Even a week after Willy had returned with Merle, the pain in her ribs was significant. They couldn't heal with how rough Willy was with her. At least her bruises and cuts were beginning to fade.

She never left the house anymore. With all the men to do the hunting, Willy told her to stay and do the cleaning and cooking; the things she was "meant to do." Macyn hadn't realized how much that month without Willy had built her spirits back up until he returned and they once again shattered like delicate glass on a concrete floor.

Daryl kept a distance, but she constantly felt his eyes on her. He was watching her for any signs of breaking altogether, although Macyn wasn't sure what Daryl thought he was going to do if he got confirmation that things were going too far. He had been spot on the morning he came into her room with the glass of water, but she wasn't about to let on that he was right. It could cost too many lives if Willy really lost it.

"Found some sports tape," Carol announced, knocking on Macyn's open door. "Thought it might help some with your ribs. I can help you with it."

Macyn gave her a small smile. "Thank you."

She lifted her shirt; Carol sat next to her on the bed. She tore off several strips of the thick tape before applying them as gently as possible to the younger woman's side.

"My husband, before he died, he beat me," Carol informed her. "I got good at taking care of these kinds of wounds."

"Willy's family was even more dysfunctional than mine," Macyn said. "Guess I've always told myself that as to why he does what he does."

"You could have better."

"Not like any of us have a lot of choices these days."

"What about Daryl?" Carol questioned, attempting to make the inquiry seem casual. "We all see the way he looks at you – the way you looked at him before Willy came back."

"He pushed me away," Macyn told Carol. "I understand why. Daryl and me, we're not so different. We both come from worlds that should make us just like Willy or Merle. But there's something in us, keeps us from being like them. Keeps us a little soft. Still, it's all we know – letting go. So we do it fast and soon. In a world gone to piss like this one has, it isn't a bad quality to possess."

Carol nodded. "Ribs are all taped up. You need anything, you let me know."

Macyn nodded. "Thank you, Carol."

Carol smiled back at her and left the room without another word. Macyn let out as deep of a breath as she could; Carol wasn't wrong, at all. Macyn didn't need to be told or have an example of why Daryl was a good man. She knew it, deep down. But he was too much like her. Better for him to stick with his brother and Macyn to stick with Willy; better for the both of them to stick with what they knew.

.&.

"I want you to teach me how to use this," Macyn said.

Daryl was sitting at the kitchen table, cleaning his own arrows when she set the crossbow on the table. "Where'd you get that?"

"Ammo closet, way in the back."

"Why do you want to use that?"

"Better for silent killings. Saves the ammo."

Daryl licked his lips. "And you want out of the house."

"Yeah," Macyn said, rolling her eyes. "I wasn't going to involve you in this but –"

"No one else is stupid enough to risk Willy Slater bein' pissed off at 'em after how shitfaced he was last night," Daryl chuckled, loading the arrows into the rack on his bow. "Get your boots on, let's get out of here quick."

Macyn smiled and went to her room for her boots. She checked to make sure that Willy was still passed out from his hangover then tiptoed down the hall and up the stairs with Daryl.

"Thank you, for doing this," she told him on their way to the woods. "Couldn't stay in that house one more second without losing my damn mind."

"Don't worry about it. Gotta get back in your good graces somehow."

Macyn kept her mouth shut. She wanted to tell him not to bother, but it didn't seem to be a very good way to show her appreciation for getting her out of the house. So, she said very little over the next couple of hours before the two of them returned to the house, Macyn with new hunting skills and the both of them with a couple of rabbits for cooking.

Carol was waiting at the bottom of the steps. "Willy's awake. He isn't happy, Macyn. You better stay away from him best you can."

Her eyes grew as she darted down the hall and into her room. Daryl dropped everything he was carrying in the kitchen and headed back for the bedrooms just as Willy pushed his way through Macyn's door.

"Hold on there, brother." Merle blocked him from going into the room after Willy, pulling him instead into the living room. "She's Willy's woman, Daryl. Gotta let that be."

"He's her woman so I gotta let him put his hands on her? It ain't right!"

Merle shook his head. "What have these people done to you? They softened you up – made you _feel_. That's the last thing you need in a world where the dead are risin' back up to eat the living."

"They did a fucking lot more for me than you did," Daryl yelled, pushing his brother back. "You left, Merle! You had that damn truck, you knew where that camp was at, and you _left_. They didn't leave me behind to figure it out for myself, _brother_."

Merle tilted his head and looked at his brother carefully. "You fucking this bitch?"

Daryl snapped. He threw one solid punch across Merle's eye before pushing him up against a wall.

"Don't you ever talk about her like that," Daryl growled into Merle's face. "She alone has done more for me than you have – she gave us a place to live."

He dropped his hands away from Merle's lapel. Merle laughed in his face, and Daryl couldn't take it. He mumbled something about fresh air before making his way up the stairs and out to the front porch.

.&.

Macyn tried to plead with Willy when he came into her room. "He was just showing me how to shoot the crossbow. That's all. I had to get out of the house."

"You mean had to get away from me," Willy argued through clenched teeth. "It's that brother of Merle's, isn't it? He's putting ideas in your head."

"No," Macyn answered firmly, shaking her head. "Daryl's got nothing to do with this."

"Daryl," Willy mocked before spitting on her. "Look at everything I gave you, Macyn! You _never _would have made it this long without me. Daryl was on the move, on the road. That ain't no kind of security. You're better off here, with me."

Macyn nodded; at this point, she would tell him whatever he wanted to hear. "Of course, Willy. You're right. I'm better of here … with you."

"Or maybe I'll just have a word with Daryl about it," Willy snarled, pulling a gun from the back of his waistband.

"No!" Macyn cried, blocking the door. "This has nothing to do with him. I'm here, with you. That's all that matters, right?"

"Prove it to me," Willy whispered in her ear, his hand gripping her chin. "Lock the door."

Macyn did as he said. She didn't have to ask what kind of proof he wanted; she already knew. She reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head just as Willy flipped off the light switch.

.&.

As they cleaned up the kitchen that night, Glenn leaned against the counter and shook his head.

"Daryl's right. We can't let this go on."

"I think Daryl's got his own reasons for wanting that shit to stop," T-Dawg mumbled, earning a pointed look from Glenn. "I'm not saying I disagree with you, I'm just saying he's on a different page with it."

Rick exchanged glances with Lori. "What are we supposed to do? It's Willy's place."

"That's right," Merle chimed in. "Just like I told Daryl – it's his woman."

"And Daryl was right, too," Dale chimed in. "It still isn't right."

"We're not the law here," Lori said. "We can't act like it at every place we get the chance to stay. Come on, Carl. Bedtime."

Rick watched his wife and son walk back to the bedrooms, then rubbed his eyes. "Lori's right. The law that was isn't the law anymore."

"Morally, you can't let this happen anymore," Carol piped up. "I know I don't usually have much of a say. I'm another mouth to feed, another woman to protect. If someone hadn't protected me from Ed though, I may not be here at all, and I'm grateful for that. Macyn, she wants out. She doesn't want Willy."

"You're going to have to make her walk away from it," Andrea posited.

"That won't be easy," Carol agreed. "But if we can have the gumption to move on – to tell her she can be one of us and have some protection – maybe she'll be able to move on, too."

"We'd be asking her to leave a lot," Rick said. "But it would be better for her. Better for all of us. Having everything we have here isn't exactly worth it when there's a price to pay. If we can make Macyn see that, it'll be for the better."

"Then we gather resources," Dale said. "I don't like the idea of stealing, but if Willy is left here on his own, he won't need as much to get him through. Over the next week or two, we all take what we can get, bit by bit. Stow it away however we can and when we can get Macyn out, we move on."

Rick nodded. "I'll tell Daryl when he comes back in. You all get some rest – we'll work out more tomorrow if we need to."

"I just hope Macyn can last that long," Carol finished.

.&.

"Willy is taking me out hunting," Rick announced with a pointed look at Daryl. "We'll be back in a couple hours; maybe less if we get lucky."

Daryl nodded and waited for a good fifteen minutes after hearing the top door shut before going to find Macyn.

She was in the laundry nook, trading clothes from the washer to the dryer. Daryl thought back to the day he had found her in here and asked her to go to the pond with him. The smile on her face when she turned around and saw him ... He certainly wasn't expecting that now, but it was a pleasant memory.

"We're leaving."

Macyn turned to him, this time with a frown. "What do you mean you're leaving?"

"We can't stay here. When it was just you, it was fine. You were part of our group. Now it's like you and Willy, then us, with Merle somewhere in between. Willy, he isn't good people."

"You think I don't know that?"

"Oh, I think you know better than anyone," Daryl answered. "That's why we want you to come with us. We'll get you away from Willy. You'll be safe with this group - with me."

Macyn bit her lip, seeming to consider the option. "What about Merle? Him and Willy are close now."

"Staying or going will be Merle's choice." He took a deep breath, walked forward to take her hands in his. "Macyn, the biggest mistake I ever made was to go and tell you I couldn't be a part of your life or have you in mine. I was stupid and foolish and scared. Please, say you'll come with us. If you do, I swear I will never let anyone hurt you again, including me."

Tears welled in her eyes. "What changed, Daryl? You were foolish and scared before, what's so different now?"

Daryl pulled Macyn to his chest. "I may still be foolish and stupid about somethings, but the scared part changed. I was more scared of losing you and I am more scared of seeing Willy keep hurting you, than I'm scared of letting someone too close and gettin' hurt later. You're worth more than that. I don't think you know it because it's been too long since someone tried to show you, but you are, Macyn. You're absolutely worth it."

She wrapped her arms around his middle. "If you promise not to ever push me away again, I will go with you."

His heart soared with relief. "I promise."

"Well, the exception to that would be if I was, ya know, rose up and trying to kill you or someone else. In which case you better shoot me right through this quick-thinking brain."

Daryl chuckled and kissed her forehead. "I promise."

"When?" she asked, parting from him.

"Next couple of weeks. I know that seems like forever, but you've got to hold out. I'll watch close and if things get too bad, me and you will leave ahead of the others. It won't be easy, but we can't just up and leave with nothing."

She nodded. "I get it. I'll do what I can on that end."

"All right. Better get back to that laundry."

Macyn nodded. She wanted to ask him if Merle knew what was going on, and, if he did, just what was keeping him from telling Willy that Macyn was preparing to leave him. No sense in upsetting things with Daryl when they were just getting back to good. Merle Dixon was going to be a bridge Macyn would either have to cross or burn when she got to it.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks SO much to scoobydoo0811 and FanFicGirl10 for the reviews - always nice to receive some feedback. Hope everyone is enjoying this, Chapter Five up soon!**


	5. Motel in Memphis

_Were you there when the man from Atlanta was murdered in Memphis?_

_Did you see him layin' at the Lorraine Motel?_

_Did you hear them say that the CIA is witness _

_To the murder of a man at a motel in Memphis?_

_Walkers!_

Macyn didn't know if she had imagined or dreamed the warning yelled down from the top of the stairs until it came again from a few doors down. She could hear the commotion in the hallway; out of instinct, she picked up a gun and the crossbow Daryl had showed her how to shoot before shoving her feet into her boots and heading for the stairs.

"I don't think so," Willy scoffed at her. "You stay here with the other women. Dale's staying behind to watch over y'all."

"Willy, I can help," Macyn pressed. "Let me go out there."

"Not a chance, woman. If I catch you out of this basement, there'll be hell to pay."

Pursing her lips, Macyn set the crossbow down, but kept the gun at her side. Daryl passed by her, sympathy in his eyes. She softened her countenance at him, silently begging him to come back alive.

"I'll be careful," he smirked at her before heading up the stairs with the other men. It gave Macyn only a little bit of comfort.

"I should be going out there," she pouted at the kitchen table. "We can't get the hell out of here soon enough."

"But it will be soon," Dale promised. "The whole group is behind you, you know. We all think it's got to stop, but –"

"It's not your place, I get it," Macyn confirmed. "Thanks, Dale."

He smiled at her and asked about her brother. Talking about Robbie perked her up a little bit. It gave her mind something to think about, anyway, while they waited to see if all of the men would come back or not.

.&.

Only a few of the walkers had emerged from the woods, but they just kept coming. Between the six men, they were able to keep them mostly at bay, and work their way closer to the woods. All of these walkers had to be put down or they would just keep coming – keep coming and keep killing.

Daryl walked ahead, his sense on high alert. He had every intention of keeping that promise to Macyn – he would come back to her. He was going to make things right and there wasn't one zombie bastard that could stop him from doing that.

A whistle that he recognized easily as Merle's alerted him that Willy was on a trail in an opposite direction. Daryl nodded just to the left of that trail; they had to cover as much space as possible if they were going to actually minimalize the threat to their current stead.

A rustling of leaves caught his attention. He moved carefully and quietly towards it. The bush didn't move again, but that didn't mean Daryl had been hearing things or that there was nothing there. He loaded his crossbow and took aim, ever-prepared for what was going to come at him.

It all happened at once. The walker came out from behind the tree, still gnawing on a squirrel even as the creature smelled new prey. Daryl pulled the release on the bow and the arrow sailed through the air, slicing through the skull and then the brain of the walker at the same time that Daryl heard the gunshot from behind him, and then the merciless pain of a bullet searing through his side.

"Daryl!" Merle yelled, running for his brother's side. "Y'all, get over here!"

Everyone descended on him at once. Daryl just stared up into the trees, at the sun peeking through and the birds flying across his line of sight. Some instinct told him he was losing a lot of blood because he was suddenly more entranced with the sunlight than he was with the injury.

"We've got to get him out of here," Rick ordered. "Merle, T-Dawg, help me get him back to the house. You four cover us. He's losing a lot of blood."

Daryl tried to tell them that he was fine. In fact, he thought that he said he was fine, that it didn't hurt, but none of them responded so maybe he hadn't said it after all. It was getting cold outside, and dark, very quickly. That wasn't possible though. It was only the afternoon when they left the house, and they hadn't been gone very long.

Still, Daryl felt so cold and tired. Maybe it was just better to let sleep happen.

.&.

"What the fuck happened?" Andrea demanded.

"He got shot," Rick was quick to inform them. "He and Willy shot for the same walker, and it just happened."

"Get him to a bed," Dale instructed. "I'll see what we have as far medical supplies to help him."

Merle and Willy exchanged meaningful glances and hushed words, even as everyone else rushed around to take action. Finally, Willy ceded to whatever Merle was saying.

"Macyn," he called. "Get to it, girl. He dies, it'll be on you."

Macyn met each and every set of eyes on her at that moment before springing into action. She went to the supply closet and emerged with a whole cart of things – medicine bottles, syringes, suture kits, gauze, bandages, drapes. And that was just what they could all make out on the cart.

"Carol, Lori, I'm going to need your help," Macyn called as she rushed down the hallway. "No one else comes in here until I say so."

The three women disappeared into Daryl's room and a few seconds later, Rick and T-Dawg emerged again.

T-Dawg raised his brow. "Macyn just kicked us out of there. She thinks she's going to save him?"

"She is if she knows what's good for her," Merle grumbled before leaving to pace in front of the room.

Willy went to the kitchen for a glass of water before explaining. "Macyn's real smart. She's a fuckin' genius. We met when I was in an emergency room with a busted eye from a bar brawl. She was on a clinical rotation."

"She's a nurse?" Andrea asked.

Willy finished off his water and shook his head. "She was a surgical intern. Not even old enough to have graduated med school and that girl was stitching me up."

No one had ever expected that. Of course, Macyn hadn't exactly been forthcoming with a lot of information about herself from before the world changed. Little things here and there that they all assumed made up her life, but now realized were things they needed to know to understand the person that Macyn had become. It was something to wrap their minds around while they waited to hear news about Daryl's condition.

.&.

Macyn handed Lori a bright flashlight and told the older woman to shine it on the wound, cautioning to hold the light as still as possible.

"Daryl, this is going to hurt like hell, but I can't numb it till I know what I'm looking at," Macyn told him. "Carol, undo this belt, give it to him to bite down on. He's going to need it."

While her two makeshift nurses did as instructed, Macyn tried to figure out just what they were dealing with. The bullet had gone from Daryl's back through his torso and exited just below his ribs. Besides losing a lot of blood, Macyn was concerned about the blood that was spilling into his abdomen – the injuries they couldn't see.

"How bad is it?" Lori asked.

"I think he got lucky, actually. Biggest concern is going to be infection. Bullet's out, which is a good start." She pulled a syringe off of the cart and loaded it with a clear liquid. "This is going to numb it, but not all the way down. I've got to see what we're looking at from the inside here."

"You're going to open him up with him still awake?" Carol asked.

Macyn looked at her and nodded. Daryl groaned as the needle went in; Macyn waited less than a minute, knowing the medicine would hit soon enough. A slightly more thorough exploration and a widening of the wound told her that by some sort of miracle, the bullet had missed his intestines and stomach, and one kidney had barely been grazed. It wasn't going to be the easiest of recoveries, but Daryl was going to live.

She instructed Carol and Lori on how to help her as she stitched him up. It was a sit and wait game now, but at least the bleeding had stopped.

"I'll tell Merle," Lori offered.

"Wait," Macyn pleaded, covering Lori's hand on the doorknob. "I need to start and IV and I – I just need a few minutes to get myself under control."

Lori nodded. "Okay. You want to tell me how you know all of this?"

"We never had money, so I always had the thought in my mind that money would take me places. So, I studied hard, put my good mind to the test. Went to medical school. I was a surgical intern when I met Willy Slater. He was nice at first, you know, they always are. Slowly, he started bitching and moaning about the hours I had to be away. The day before they started slaughtering hospital staffs, I quit my job for him. To this day he'll tell you he saved my life by telling me I didn't need to be a doctor."

Daryl groaned again, in and out of consciousness. Macyn finished with his IV and promised that the pain would go away soon. She pushed the hair from his forehead and looked down at the face of the man she could have lost forever. She ran Rick's explanation through her mind again – remembered that it was Willy who had done this – before throwing her gloves in a nearby trash can and storming from the room.

"You trying to kill people now?" Macyn demanded from Willy.

"He's still alive," Willy waved her off. "It was an accident."

"Was it?" Macyn countered. She was pushing deadly buttons but she didn't care.

Merle gripped her upper arm and pushed her towards the rooms. "What's done is done, Doc. Daryl's in pain now, so you'd better get back there and fix that shit you hooked him up to."

Macyn wrenched her arm away from Merle's grip. "He's your _brother_. I can't believe you can't see what's really going on here, or that you aren't even concerned with it."

She stormed off towards Daryl's room where Carol was helping him drink some water.

"I don't want anyone else in this room until I say otherwise," Macyn told her. "You, me, and Lori. Got it?"

Carol nodded. "Probably for the best."

"Daryl, I know you're hurting," Macyn told him gently. "You've got to give the medicine a few minutes to work. You'll start getting drowsy and then the pain will fade."

He nodded and coughed. Macyn picked up the wet washcloth from the basin on the nightstand. She wrung the thing out and then wiped his forehead and his face. She spoke to him with comforting words and before long, he had drifted off to sleep.

.&.

Merle sat on the front porch with a toothpick in one hand and a rifle in the other. Footsteps on the wooden floor alerted him to a visitor.

"I'm sorry about your brother," Willy apologized. "Was shooting for the walker."

"Hit him a little low to be aiming for that walker," Merle commented. "Kind of makes me wonder if Macyn is right - if you were aimin' for Daryl."

"Spooked when the gun shot is all. Haven't shot a weapon bigger than a handgun in a while."

Merle nodded and relinquished his post to Willy. "I appreciate you bringing me here. Found my brother, got out of that damn city. If I find out you shot him on purpose though, you had better believe that appreciation won't get you far."

"You threatening me?"

"Nope," Merle replied matter of factly. "Just telling you. I'll send the next watch out in a couple hours."

.&.

Over the next thirty-six hours, Daryl was in and out of consciousness. When he was awake, he wasn't exactly lucid; he spoke nonsense and talked about things that had happened a long time ago. It made Macyn that much more confident in her decision to restrict his visitors.

"Never would have pegged you for a doctor, even for the money," Lori commented while they changed Daryl's bandages.

Macyn pressed her lips into a thin line before replying. "Well, I'm pretty smart, as it turns out. It was my way of getting away from my father, finally. My brother helped me out as much as he could. I took college classes in high school and tested out of some things. Wasn't even two years ahead of where I would normally be if I hadn't done it the fast way. Things with Willy didn't get bad until after we got engaged, about eight months ago."

Lori watched Macyn move; her hands were trained and her eyes were skilled. She knew what she was doing. Here, practicing some sort of medicine, Macyn was the most confident Lori had ever seen her be.

"Thank God we found you when we did, then."

Macyn shook her head. "If y'all wouldn't have found me, Willy never would have shot Daryl."

"It could have been someone else, and then you wouldn't have been around to save him."

"Or someone else would have saved him," Macyn posited. "It could have gone any number of ways. I won't keep arguing – I get what you're saying. Thank you, Lori."

"Thanks goes to you," Lori said with a small smile.

Macyn matched her countenance. "I'm going to sit with him a while, I think."

"What's Willy going to think?" Lori asked, taking a chair.

"I don't know. I'll tell him that I was doing some more exploratory surgery or something. Don't want Daryl to be alone if he wakes up."

"He won't believe that you were doing any sort of surgery on your own. I'll stay with you," Lori offered.

Macyn gave the woman a full smile this time. She had never had a strong woman in her life; her father and then school and then Willy had kept her life so closed it, there wasn't much time for people. She thought again about how ironic it was that the world nearly had to come to an end for her to find all these good things, but it almost made up for the zombies trying to kill them at every turn.


	6. Levi

_Born up on the Blue Ridge_

_At the Carolina line_

_Baptized on the banks of the New River_

_Brought up on the bluegrass_

_And the clear moonshine_

_Yeah, tough as iron but a heart as soft as leather_

_Levi_

Somebody was crying. Not loud sobs or a weeping, but for sure crying. There were sniffles and nasally mumbles. A small movement alerted him that the person was leaning on the bed where he had been laying for the last four days. A warm liquid dropped onto his hand; whoever was crying was holding his hand as they cried.

Daryl cracked his eyes open. The dark hair with the sun-bleached strands on the head that was leaning against his hand was hair he well recognized. It took a lot of the strength he felt like he had, but he slowly turned his hand and gently caressed her cheek.

"Don't cry," he told her. It came out on a breath in a low, husky tone, but he did indeed say it.

Macyn lifted her head and wiped her tears with her free hand. "You're awake?"

"I guess so. How long have I been out?"

"Four days," she informed him. "I wasn't sure we were going to get you back."

"I got shot."

"You did. Willy shot you – he was aiming for a walker and he shot you instead. 'Least that's what he says." She swallowed hard. "That's not what's important. What's important is that you're conscious again. Let me get your vitals …"

Macyn flitted around the room like a hummingbird, gathering all the equipment she would need to check his vital signs. She recorded everything on a notepad and studied the numbers for almost a minute before breaking out into a full-on grin.

"Daryl Dixon, you are going to be just fine."

"Why were you cryin' then?" he asked as she helped him sit up before helped him drink some water.

Macyn pursed her lips. "You got worse before you got better. Some of the wound got infected. I had to cut some of the muscle tissue out around the gunshot wound but not too much. You won't even notice the difference when it heals."

"What about the kidney?"

"Never showed any signs of internal bleeding once I stitched you up, so it must be okay, but we'll keep an eye on you." She let out a deep breath. "I'm glad you pulled through, Daryl."

"I'm sorry, Macyn," Daryl said before she could leave the room.

"Sorry for what?" Macyn frowned.

"For scaring you like that. I told you I'd come back, never thought it would be like this. I'm sorry I put you through that. And, thank you, for keeping me alive."

Macyn had to wipe a last stray tear that fell at how genuine Daryl sounded. "You keep me alive, Daryl. It's the least I could do. I'll tell Merle and the others that you're awake."

.&.

While Merle and the others visited with Daryl, Macyn sat in the tripod position on her bed, trying to catch her breath. The relief was overwhelming. When his temperature had skyrocketed and then his other vital signs began to reach dangerous numbers, she would have thought that all was lost. Still, Daryl hung on. She sat at his bedside night and day for the three days after his initial injury with Willy only excusing her because of the infection. Lori and Carol were in and out to help her. They both had encouraged her to get some rest, but she refused to budge. Daryl had consumed her whole heart in the days he had been in her life, and it wasn't just about getting her away from Willy – it was that he cared enough to get her away from Willy. Carol had told her how Daryl snapped on Merle to defend her honor after they had come back from crossbow hunting, and Macyn knew that said a lot.

The tears fell again, this time from a mix of exhaustion and relief. She told herself over and over to relax, but it was only when someone knocked on her door that she attempted to quickly compose herself.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Merle took a tentative step into the room. "You saved my brother's life. Thank you."

Macyn nodded. "It was my pleasure, Merle. Really."

Looking out into the hallway first, Merle moved the door so it was closed only a crack. "Do you love him?"

"I do," she answered quietly. "And you can tell me I'm crazy, I don't care. None of us knows how long we have on a day-to-day basis. Sometimes it's by the hour. I know that however much time I have left here on this earth, I want to be with Daryl for all of it.

"He's a mess. Why would you love him?"

After her shock that Merle would even have this conversation with her wore off, Macyn took a deep breath. "That's where you're wrong. I see Daryl differently than you do – for who he really is. He isn't a mess. He isn't a fighter, either. Daryl fights because he has to, because he's always had to. Not because he wants to or has ever wanted to. I'm not saying you were wrong to instill that in him. It's what kept him alive all this time – and I'm not just talking about walkers. That's why Daryl gets so torn and angry sometimes. He doesn't know what to do with a good thing when he finds it because no good thing no one person who was supposed to love him, has ever lasted. We have that in common. When someone makes a choice to love Daryl, to let love happen with Daryl the way I did, he fights it because he doesn't know any different. Once he saw that I was serious as death and believed I wasn't going anywhere and I wasn't going to change or change my mind, that's when he let me in. When he realized that I wasn't going to leave but he could still lose me. Daryl may have some struggles, but he isn't a mess. That's why I love him – he is the first man in my life, even since my brother, who never left me behind for any reason. He fought for me."

Merle's softened countenance hardened back over. "And what, you're just going to leave Willy? Good luck with that. He ain't the kind of man to let something that belongs to him go easily. You almost got my brother killed once, Macyn. You gonna let it happen again? Because if Willy thinks that he will lose you to Daryl, he won't stop until Daryl is dead."

"Why is this on me?" Macyn frowned. "Maybe you should do something about Willy, for your brother's sake."

"That would be an easy out for you, wouldn't it," Merle growled. "I'm not going to kill a man who brought me here to this. For the same reason Daryl won't leave you behind. You think he stays because he wants you? You can talk them pretty words all you want, but Daryl getting shot is on you. You're letting him think he could have something good with you but once you make it out of here, he'll see you're nothing more than a burden."

"That's what you _think_ will happen," Macyn corrected. "You never had someone in your life who cares about your well-being other than Daryl. I think you're afraid, Merle, that if Daryl and I get out together, he won't give a shit about what happens to you. And why the fuck would he? The brother who left him behind to fend for himself with a group of people who were little more than strangers. You're right, though, to be scared. You haven't given him anything; I have. I've saved his life three times over now. I gave him a purpose to stay alive other than just living day-to-day because it's better than being eaten alive."

"You got guts, girl, I'll give you that." Merle shook his head, and Macyn didn't like the look in his eye. "Daryl's asking for you. He wants you to stay nearby in case things go downhill again. It'd be in your best interest to make sure he knows you're nothing but a doctor to him now."

She rose from the bed, holding eye contact with Merle as she waited for him to leave the room in front of her. His words played over in her head, and the more she thought about them, the more she wondered which one of them was right.

.&.

Daryl smirked when she walked in the room. Carol excused herself, telling Macyn to just let her know if she needed help. Macyn nodded and shut the door behind her.

"Feelin' okay?" she asked, palpitating around his wound some to make sure nothing was swelling or otherwise out of the norm. "Merle said you wanted me here in case it went bad again."

"I feel good, considering I just got shot through the back a few days ago," Daryl replied. His tone held a hint of humor to it.

Macyn gave only the ghost of a smile. "You're in good spirits, that's a good sign. You don't need me in here, so I will just come back and check on you in a while. Get some rest, Daryl."

He made a painful reach for her hand. "What's the matter with you?"

"Just had a pleasant little chat with Merle. He seems to think it is my fault Willy shot you. Wants me to tell you to leave without me."

Daryl frowned. "And what did you tell Merle?"

"Told him he was scared that you were the only person who ever cared about him, and he was afraid you would leave him behind."

"Good for you. So what's the problem?"

Macyn sat back on the bed. "What if Merle is right? You think you want me now but once we're out there and we have nothing ..."

Daryl pursed his lips together. "Merle is wrong. I want you because you're strong. You're caring and you deserve better than what you've had. I want to be the one to give that to you."

He took her hand again and pulled Macyn against his chest. She let out a deep breath and forgot about what a risk it was to be here with Daril, like this. She let herself soak up his warmth and comfort, waiting as the doubts drifted away.

"We're going to be okay," Macyn finally breathed.

"Just fine," Daryl agreed. He nudged her up gently. "C'mere. Been wantin' to do somethin' for a while now."

Macyn sat up and looked at him curiously. Daryl grinned before cupping her face with his hands and slowly leaning towards her. Macyn's breath caught in her throat and her eyelids fell closed.

Daryl's lips first brushed softly against Macyn's, testing out the waters. Her lips were soft and inviting; he didn't wait before kissing her full-on. She responded eagerly, leaning into him again and anxious to have him hold her.

"We really should be careful," Macyn told him between kisses. "Between Willy and your injury, and number of things could go wrong here."

"Just quit worryin' and kiss me," Daryl smiled.

Macyn couldn't help but grin as she obliged him. They took it easy, careful not to get too fired up. When Daryl started to get tired, Macyn backed away but still lay beside him. She played with the charm on the necklace she always wore and listened to Daryl tell a story about being lost in the woods for nine days before coming home to find no one had missed him.

"So, I marched in the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. Wasn't much else I could do besides that. Just went on with life."

Macyn nodded. "I tried to runaway once. Got about as far as the barn before my daddy came stormin' out after me. Even in the dead of night that dirty bastard knew that I was sneaking out."

"What happened?" Daryl asked.

Macyn tucked the necklace under her shirt. "Robbie. He told Daddy that he had been the one sneaking out of the house – that I was going after him."

"Your dad believed that?"

"He believed everything Robbie said. He patted Robbie on the back, told him to get in the house. Locked me in my room for three days but he didn't hit me anymore. Not for getting out of the house anyway."

Daryl did his best to roll to his good side. He ran his finger along her collarbone, pulling the necklace back out from under her shirt. "What's this?"

"It was my mama's. Robbie had gotten it before she died, and he gave it to me at her funeral. It's called a Miraculous Medal. Mama was a real devout Catholic. I'm not so good at it as she was. Anyway, there was this saint – can't remember her name – she had a vision of Mary, and she designed this medal. It supposed to bring special graces at the hour of death. I didn't start wearing it until all this started happening. I was too afraid Daddy would take it away."

Daryl looked carefully at the medal before letting it drop back down to her chest. He pushed the hair out of her face and kissed her softly. "You better make an appearance out there before Willy comes crashin' in."

"You're right," Macyn said, kissing his cheek and getting up. "You get some rest. I'll come in to check on you soon."

Daryl smirked. "Hope so."

Macyn smirked back before shutting the door behind her. Looking to make sure no one was lurking in the hallway and had any idea of what had just gone on in that room, she smiled to herself before making her way back out to the main room.

.&.

Merle pulled back into his room when the light from Daryl's room signaled an open door. He had walked into Daryl's room just as his brother pulled Macyn in for that first kiss. He had made sure to be quiet in case Macyn was in the middle of an exam or taking vitals, so he was able to silently backtrack out of the room and process what he had just seen. Of course, Merle didn't know how many times that had happened, or if it had ever gone further. All he knew was that if it continued, Willy Slater was going to kill Daryl, and Merle just couldn't have that.

Something had to be done.

* * *

**A/N: I just had to get a little fluff in there! I finally finished Season Two of TWD and watched the first episode of Season Three, so I'm on my way to getting caught up. Can't wait to keep watching more! Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, and thank you again for the reviews - they're very encouraging. **


	7. Tear It Down

_Every time I'd hit her she'd holler "Police"_

_Cook them biscuits, cook 'em brown_

_Done talkin' I'll tear it around_

_If you catch another mule kickin' in your stall_

_Then tear it down_

"So shootin' Daryl," Merle began. "That was about Macyn, right?"

He and Willy Slater were alone in the kitchen-and-dining area, sharing a much-coveted bottle of fine Irish whiskey.

Willy swallowed what was left in his glass and poured himself another full serving. "Told you, that was an accident."

"I think you're lying," Merle replied.

"Ain't got a reason to lie."

"Except you don't want to be the asshole who shot his buddy's brother because he was so threatened that guy would take his girl. If I wasn't owed to you for getting me out of the city when things went bad, I would have killed you already – we'll just say we're even on that front. Now let's talk about Macyn, since we both know that's what it boils down to, whether you want to admit it or not. She's your woman, you don't want anyone else to have her. Daryl is my brother, and I don't want some dumb broad clouding up his good judgment. I think we can agree that they need to be distanced from each other."

"What are you suggesting?" Willy frowned.

"Macyn is planning on leaving with the rest of them. She and Daryl think they're gonna have some great life together. Best they can, I s'pose. You and I both need her to stay here."

Willy's scowl faded to the expression of a man too prideful to admit his heart was broken. "She ain't leavin'. Macyn's a broken animal. Would rather have a shit home than no home at all."

"Maybe before Daryl, but love'll make a woman do crazy things, Willy."

"Love," Willy scoffed. "The hell are you talking about?"

"Macyn told me herself. I saw 'em kissing in Daryl's room." Willy made to charge away from the table but Merle stopped him. "You've got to learn how to play you battles, friend. Macyn, she need to be taught a lesson. She needs to be broken again. I will take care of Daryl – you gotta figure out what to do with your woman."

Willy narrowed his eyes. "Don't you worry your ugly face about that one, Merle. I take care of my own."

"You'd better before it gets my brother killed," Merle warned as he wandered away from the table.

.&.

Daryl smirked as he watched Macyn move about the room, discarding the old bandages from his wound and cleaning up a few things here and there. Finally, she tossed her latex gloves in the trash and turned to look at him.

"You're healing very well. You can start getting up and around I think, but don't overdo it. I wouldn't try nothin' too far outside of the house yet … Why're you looking at me like that?"

Daryl carefully sat up and threw his legs over so his feet were touching the floor. His side was sore but not painful, so he slowly lifted himself away from the mattress to stand in front of Macyn. He pushed her bangs away from her face and gently cupped her cheek before laying a sweet, chaste kiss on her lips.

"Been waiting to do that upright," he smiled down at her.

Macyn grinned back up at him. "Can't complain about that. Do you want to come sit in the kitchen and I will make you some lunch?"

"Anywhere with you."

Macyn tried to keep her giggling to a minimum. The look on Daryl's face told her that he would ravish her at any moment if only he had the strength for it. For all Macyn knew, he would find that extra bit of energy just to have his way with her – not that she would complain about that either.

Daryl slowly lowered himself into a chair at the table, making small talk with the others hanging around. Everyone seemed happy to have him back up and around – everyone except for Willy, of course.

"Anybody else want to eat?" Macyn offered, setting a sandwich and a glass of water in front of Daryl.

"I could go for a sandwich," Dale piped up.

Macyn smiled at him and got to making another plate. She didn't even ask Willy if he wanted anything, just made him a sandwich, too, and set it in front of him. He didn't say anything or even look at her; it didn't escape anyone's notice.

"Great lunch, Macyn," Dale told her when they were all finished. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She collected the dishes and set them in the sink to be washed later on. "Daryl, are you up for some fresh air?"

Merle frowned. "Is that a good idea?"

"Couldn't hurt him," Macyn shrugged. "As long as he takes his time up and down the stairs."

"Would be nice to see some sunlight," Daryl commented.

"What if there are walkers out there?"

"I wasn't gonna send him out there alone," Macyn argued to Merle. "There's always walkers out there, but that's why we have weapons. You can go out there with him, if you'd like."

Merle opted to oblige her on that offer, arming himself before handing Daryl a smaller pistol which the latter man tucked into his waistband. Macyn went back to the dishes; Daryl took one careful glance back at Willy and then Macyn.

"Why don't I help you with cleaning up?" Dale offered, holding a meaningful eye contact with Daryl.

Daryl nodded his thanks and continued following Merle up the steps and out of the house.

.&.

Merle helped Daryl lower himself down into the rocking chair on the porch and watched the treeline carefully for walkers.

"Glad to see you up and around, brother," Merle commented.

"Yeah, thank goodness Macyn is a doctor. Probably wouldn't be in such good shape otherwise."

"Macyn," Merle scoffed. "You're hung up on her, ain't ya?"

Daryl let out as deep of a breath as possible. "Somethin' about her, Merle. I know Willy has her, but he doesn't deserve her. If you knew what he does to her –"

"That doesn't matter. You need to leave her here when we go."

"Shouldn't that be her choice?"

"You take her with you, you're making some choices of your own, Daryl. You're making a choice to wrong Willy Slater. You're making a choice to go against your own brother."

"How's that?" Daryl frowned.

Merle pursed his lips. "That town we were in – we didn't exactly leave by choice. I take that back – we left with a choice of life or death. 'Cept there wasn't much on the life side."

"What're you talking about, Merle?"

Merle took a seat on the step. "It was a safe place. There was a huge wall, twenty-four-seven guards – none of the chaos like what's out here. It was almost _normal_. Me and one of the guys runnin' the town got into one night, and things got pretty heated. I killed him, Daryl. Didn't mean to, but it happened. They locked me up best they could and were trying to decide on how to deal with me when Willy came and got me out. We both left that town and started looking for this place. I owe him my life – probably won't have a chance to repay that, so the best I can do is convince my brother not to take his girl."

"I see what you're sayin', but I can't change how I feel or turn my back on it. You're my brother and you always will be, but Macyn's not like anyone. I can't walk away from her. If she stays, I stay. Whether or not I'm with her, I won't walk away and let Willy hurt her over and over again." Daryl thought carefully before continuing. "You owe him your life and you say you won't be able to repay that. I'm telling you now, just as sure as I survived that gunshot, if he pulls that shit on me again, or if I catch him hurting Macyn, I'm going to kill him. Better think about how that weighs with whatever favor you think you owe him."

Daryl closed his eyes and leaned back against the chair, letting his lungs absorb the fresh country air. Merle stayed where he was on the step, thinking over what his brother had said. He owed Willy Slater his life, that was for sure, but why the hell did he care so much? Daryl was his _brother_ after all, his own flesh and blood.

A thought nagged at the back of his simple-minded brain that maybe Macyn was right. Maybe he was afraid to lose Daryl to someone else – Merle knew what an asshole he was. If Daryl didn't care, well, he might as well drop dead because sure as hell no one else would care about ole Merle.

.&.

Macyn couldn't sleep. She had too many thoughts running around in her head to allow her to rest. So, she got up and headed for the kitchen. Willy Slater was already there, working again on a bottle of whiskey. Against her better judgment, she fetched a short glass from the cupboard and set it on the table. Willy looked at her like she'd lost her mind; as she took her chair, he recovered and filled her glass halfway full.

"Doesn't this remind you of how it used to be," Macyn noted, sipping down a bit of the brown liquid. "When we first met, I mean."

Willy actually smirked. "If I recall correctly, you met me for drinks after that ER shift and we drank ourselves silly."

Macyn nodded, one end of her mouth hinting upwards. "That's right, we did. That was probably the most fun I'd had since Robbie died."

"I knew then that I loved you," Willy continued, finishing off what was in his glass and continuing on to pour himself what was left in the bottle. "You were smart and beautiful. And, God, the way you laugh, Macyn. It's like a song."

Her eyes teared up. Maybe she didn't love Willy anymore, but things really had been great until they got engaged. It hurt and broke her heart all over again to hear him talk about the way it used to be.

"So what happened?" she whispered.

Willy shrugged; the warmth in his eyes cooled. "You remember that doctor you was followin' around at the hospital? Said he was teaching you everything you wanted to know about surgery and all that – what was it, chest surgery?"

Macyn nodded. "Hearts and lungs and other belly organs."

"Remind me the word for it? What kind of doctor was he?"

She swallowed a good gulp of the whiskey. That look was in his eye again. Her heart pulled itself back together yet again, and Macyn told herself to be on guard.

"Cardio-thoracic surgeon."

Willy shook his head and threw back what was left in his glass before standing with the cup still in his hand. "I couldn't repeat that correctly if my life depended on it."

"Well, you are drunk," Macyn reminded him coldly. She picked up her glass and finished what was left in it before throwing it so hard into the sink that glass shattered into the sink, across the counter, and even onto the floor.

She made for a quick getaway to her room, but Willy was right on her heels. He shoved her into the room and locked the door behind them. His grip tightened around her neck as he pushed her against the wall.

"You asked me a question, damn it, now you're gonna hear the answer," he snarled. "That doctor had eyes for you, Macyn Ballard. You were so caught up in how smart he was, how much he knew. You weren't gonna stay with me for long. But I couldn't be without you. I did what I had to do to make you stay."

"I'm here," she choked out.

"But not with me," Willy countered. "It was that doctor then, and now it's Daryl fuckin' Dixon. You think you're gonna run away with him, you think things are going to be better out there. I'll remind you again that I gave you everything you have here. I couldn't be without you then and I _won't _be without you now, you hear me? You're mine."

He threw her onto the bed and crawled over her. His fist hit her several times, the last blow so hard that everything went black. Macyn knew nothing for hours.

.&.

"What happened in here?" Lori frowned, grabbing for a rag to pick up the glass. There was no blood, but another glass was sitting on the table with a bottle of whiskey. She placed that one carefully in the sink and stowed the liquor away in the cupboard.

"Mornin'," Willy grumbled, coming down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"You know what happened here?" Lori questioned.

Willy shrugged. "Accident."

Lori didn't like the feeling this man gave her. She didn't like the way he easily dismissed her question. She just didn't like him. She went back to her room and roused Rick.

"I think something's wrong. There was broken glass in the kitchen, and Willy just came inside all messy."

Rick rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "And how does that lead you to think something's wrong?"

"I just don't like it. What if him and Macyn got into it again and something happened?"

Rick sighed. "Maybe we should ask Macyn."

In her fear, that bit of logical thinking had escaped Lori's thinking. While Rick dressed, she went and knocked on Macyn's door; there was no answer. Slowly, she turned the knob.

The room smelled of sweat and … she didn't know what else. It just didn't smell right. Macyn wasn't in there, but the bedding was entirely in disarray; the sheets, the pillows, even the comforter were more or less bunched to one side of the mattress. A further look revealed to Lori several large spots of blood on the mattress and pillows.

Anger raged up in her. Everyone else could sit back and plan and wait to be able to get out, but Lori wasn't having it anymore. Macyn was a good person, and Lori was tired of watching Willy Slater hurt her.

"Where is she?" Lori demanded, shoving Willy as best she could. "Where's Macyn? Why is there blood on her bed?"

"It ain't your business," Willy answered coldly.

Lori slapped him across the face. "I know you did something with her. Is she alive? Did you kill her? God, I hope if you did her brain is still intact enough to come back so we can lead her right to you and let her torture you while you die! You selfish son of a bitch, _where is she_?"

Willy took a hold of Lori's arms and shoved her to the ground just as Rick came out to respond to the yelling. Andrea, Dale and Carol were not far behind, while Daryl slowly made his way to the main room.

"You keep your hands off my wife," Rick warned Willy through gritted teeth.

"Then you tell your wife not to run around accusing people of things they didn't do. I didn't kill Macyn."

"Then where is she?" Rick demanded. "You don't want to deal with her, that's fine. We'll take her with us. We'll all get out of here, but we're taking Macyn with us. Just tell us where the hell she is."

"Wait a minute," Daryl frowned. "Macyn's missing?"

"I said good night to her and watched her close her bedroom door behind her last night," Andrea said.

"Has anyone checked her room?" Dale asked.

"There's a lot of blood on the bed," Carol reported. "Lori's right."

"Where is she?" Daryl demanded, charging for Willy. Rick held him back, reminded Daryl that he was in no condition to fight a man.

"Let me handle this." Merle had finally moseyed his way out to the group by then, so Rick handed Daryl over to his brother before turning back to Willy. "Tell me where she is. Me and Glenn and Dale will go find her. When we come back with her, we'll all leave. It'll just be done."

Willy chuckled. "That girl is worthless but if y'all want her, good luck finding her. She's out in the woods, somewhere. She was alive when I left her."

Rick gritted his teeth to keep himself from throwing a few good punches at the other man, then directed Glenn and Dale to gear up and head out with him.

"I'm going, too," Daryl said. "You need the extra man."

"No," Rick told him sternly. "You are in _no _condition. You stay here with the others. T-Dawg, I'm counting on you to hold our own while we look for her."

"That won't be a problem," T-Dawg answered confidently, looking Willy straight in the eye.

"She was alive when I left her," Willy laughed again, heading back for his room. "But you'll be damn lucky if she's alive when you find her."

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for the delay in updates! I hit a brick wall with this one, but I think I'm back on track. Just five more episodes to go and I'm all caught up with TWD! Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, thanks for coming back and reading!**


	8. The Silver Dagger

_Oh Willie dear there's no use in asking  
For he's in his room a taking rest  
And by his side lies a silver dagger  
To slay the one that I love best_

She coughed and sputtered; the blood fell from her mouth like soft raindrops from a dark storm cloud. She was naked and hurting. How she had survived Willy the night before was miracle in itself, let alone how she had fended off the few walkers that had come into the bush where Willy had dumped her.

The sun was coming up now; she could see it through the treetops. She couldn't stay here, but moving hurt too much. She could waste precious energy.

Deciding it was her best bet for the time being, Macyn curled up into a ball and stayed right where she was.

.&.

Rick let out an exasperated sigh and wiped the sweat from his brow. They had been searching for hours with no sign of Macyn. There was no way to tell where Willy had dumped her; it was like finding a needle in a haystack.

"She can only be so far," Glenn commented, pulling his arm across his face to wipe away the sweat.

"If he left her to die, he wouldn't have to take her far. Thing is, we don't know how close to daylight he dragged her out here. She could be –"

"Don't even say it," Dale stopped Rick. "Macyn is a fighter – we know that. She is a survivor. We just have to find her."

Pressing his lips into a thin line, Rick nodded, and the search continued.

.&.

She had been laying under that rotting zombie corpse for – well, she didn't know how long now. It had warded off several walkers that had come in her direction, but she wasn't able to stand the stench much longer. Moreover, laying there and trying to conserve her energy wasn't getting her anywhere either.

Pushing the body off of her, she tried to sit up. It hurt, but she kept her groans to herself. Any noise that could possibly attract more walkers was exactly what she didn't want.

Macyn reached deep within herself and found the willpower to make herself move. She crawled first onto all fours, choking back tears as the pain ricocheted through every nerve in her body. Taking a deep breath, she herself further and up onto two legs.

Willy had beat her, raped her, and left her for dead. Whatever memories she and the whiskey had dredged up, it had sent him off the deep end. The thought of her leaving with Daryl was just too much for Willy Slater to live with.

When he dumped her in the bush of the forest, Macyn had thought it would be the end. It had been nearly daylight, but that didn't mean being naked and unarmed was any more of an ideal situation to find herself in.

It was going to take time and energy, but Macyn was going to get back to that house and when she did … she had plans for Willy Slater.

.&.

Carol walked into Macyn's room to gather the bedding and wash it. She wanted to be optimistic that they would return with Macyn, but no doubt the girl would need to rest. Carol figured after all she had been through, the least Macyn deserved would be to rest on clean sheets.

Willy was standing in the middle of the room, just staring at the mattress when Carol opened the door. She immediately shrank back, but the sound of Willy's voice brought her back.

"What did you say?"

"I said, it wasn't my intention to do that to her." He paused here; in the silence, Carol got a look at the scratches and bruises on Willy's face and arms. She was sure there had to be more, for Macyn had told her once that she always fought back when she was conscious enough to do so. "I love her more than anything. That's why it's so hard to part with her. No one else deserves her. I saved Macyn. I told her to quit the hospital, I gave her all of this. I gave her a happiness her father could never give her."

"And then you took it away from her," Carol replied. "I know about men like you, Willy. Don't deserve to be called men for the way you treat women. You were probably charming and funny and caring, and you probably made her feel safe. Then you changed. You took that safety away from her and became her worst nightmare – a man who claimed to love her and want to give her a life, but who beat her and took her away from the life she wanted."

"She would have died in that hospital if I didn't tell her to quit."

"But that's not why you told her to quit. You didn't save her. You forced her to give up on her dream – the timing is just coincidence. You may have saved her from being massacred with the other hospital staff, but you kept her here like a caged animal. You stopped caring about her when you decided no one else but you could have her. I don't know what happened last night, but if they don't find her … I hope the guilt does you in."

She walked confidently into the room, gathered all the bedclothes, and walked back out, shutting the door behind her.

.&.

"We should have brought Daryl with us," Glenn commented. "He's a tracker. He knows these woods better than we do."

"He's in no shape to be out here in this heat," Rick returned.

"What about Merle? He can track. He should be out here helping for his brother's sake."

Rick nodded. "Be that as it may, I don't think he'd go against Willy."

"We could ask him," Dale suggested. "Merle's got emotions … somewhere in his dark soul is a black heart with strings that can be tugged at, just like anyone else. Just takes the right thing to say."

"Which Daryl might know," Glenn added.

Rick took a deep breath and spit on the ground. Glenn and Dale were making sense, sad as that was concerning Merle. It wasn't as though they were making any progress out here on their own. Finally, he caved and motioned for them to head back to the house.

.&.

Merle rolled his eyes and scoffed. "You people want me to help you find some bitch I didn't want to be around in the first place?"

"In my place," Daryl spoke up. "I can't go out there. Not yet. But they need someone with tracking skills, brother. I need you to do this for me."

"What is it about her that you just can't stand to be away from?" Merle snarled.

Daryl looked to Rick and then Glenn, carefully considering his answer. "That shouldn't matter. I tell you, you'd just call me a pussy anyway. All that should matter, _brother_, is that she's important to me, and I'm asking you to do this. To help me."

"This is your chance to do some good, man," Rick added. "Macyn, she's never done anything to wrong you. You're so adamant that her business with Willy is between the two of them, but you're on his side."

"Ain't no sides," Merle corrected. "Willy has what we need. I'm just trying to keep the peace."

"You're headed in the right direction, maybe just the wrong path," Daryl told his brother. "Please. I've never asked you for anything. I'm asking you to do this."

Merle looked at his younger brother, at the pleading look in Daryl's eyes, and felt his resolve crumble – but not without stipulations. "If I do this – help you find her and bring her back – then as soon as Daryl is back up to shape, we get out of here."

"Fine," Rick agreed.

"And we leave Macyn behind," Merle finished. "She'll drag us down. Willy'll always be coming to find her, if he even lets her out alive. If he lets us out alive. That's my terms. We go out and find her, bring her back, and get the hell out of Dodge before the shit really hits the fan."

Daryl swallowed and answered before Rick could. "Deal."

Merle smirked and nodded. "I'll gear up."

Rick frowned and waited for Merle to be out of ear shot before addressing Daryl. "What the hell?"

"I just need him to go find her, whatever it takes. I need her back here where I can know she's okay. I'll figure out the rest of it later."

Rick wasn't so sure how that was going to work out, but Daryl seemed to know what he was doing. Rick just had to trust his friend's judgment.

.&.

All she could think about was when Robbie died. That was the last time she remembered hurting this bad. Her father and Willy had both been mostly satisfied to bring her to cuts and bruises and tears before they stopped; Willy usually considered forcing himself on her punishment enough for whatever he deemed her punishable for.

But when Robbie died, Martin Ballard's broken heart targeted Macyn to release all of the pain and anguish the man was feeling. Macyn remembered wanting to beg those uniformed men to take her away with them or to just stay. She could see it in her father' eye; he was coming for her. Sure enough, as soon as the other men were gone and the door was locked behind them, Martin had her by the hair and threw her onto the floor. He beat her for nearly three hours, crying and screaming as he struck out. Macyn cried too, but it didn't stop him from hurting her.

Finally, when he was too tired to lift his arms and legs anymore, Martin backed away from her. She was bleeding and broken, a mess of pain and grief. He looked down at her and shook his head, and Macyn would never forget the words he said to her.

_I'm sorry your brother's dead. _

And it was as if he truly meant it – not just that Martin was sorry for himself having lost his beloved son. Just in that once short sentence, in the tone he used, Martin was acknowledging that Macyn had lost her protector; the only person she had left in the world who loved her after her mother died. After he said it, he had gone up to his room and closed the door softly behind him. Macyn had picked herself up off the floor and only made it as far as the couch before falling asleep. When those uniformed men had come back the next day, one of them asked if she was all right. She made some excuse about falling down the stairs during a crying fit, but she could see in the man's eyes he didn't believe her. Without proof though, what could he do?

She felt something like that now. Like there had to be a way to safety, but she just couldn't figure out how to get there. Closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath, she focused her mind on just exactly what she was going to do to Willy if and when she ever made it back to that house.

_Macyn_.

Her head and her ears perked up. Either she was having auditory hallucinations or someone was calling her name. She stood very still, waiting to hear it again.

_Macyn!_

Yes, this was real. They had come looking for her! She stayed right where she was, concentrating on the familiar voices calling for her – Rick. Glenn. Merle. She pushed away her initial shock that Merle was a member of the search party; tears of relief filled her eyes.

"Here," Macyn tried to get out, moving quickly in the direction the voices were coming from. "I'm here!"

"Macyn? Where are you?" Rick called.

"Rick! Rick! Rick!" Macyn screamed his name with everything in her, and finally the former sheriff's deputy came into view. He pulled the shirt off of his back and pushed it over her arms and head before anything in an effort to cover her.

Macyn was sobbing as she leaned herself into Rick's chest. She was in so much pain and, now that she had been found, she could allow herself to feel it. Paired with the relief at being found, the floodgates were really coming open.

"Shh," Rick comforted, pushing her hair away from her face before taking a good look at her. "Are you all right?"

"No bites or scratches," Macyn answered, understanding what his question really meant.

"All right, let's get you back to the house."

He kept one arm around her shoulders and scooped her legs up with the other arm. It seemed effortless, Rick's ability to carry her through the woods.

Exhaustion affected her in waves as they went. She would black out and then come back, unaware of how they had gotten as far as they did.

Once in the shelter, Lori and Carol took over her care. They helped her wash herself and bandaged and cared for her bruises and cuts. Macyn guided them on a full examination to look for broken bones she might not have been aware of, but there seemed to be none.

"By the grace of God," Lori muttered.

Macyn nodded. "Where's Daryl?"

"We'll send him in as soon as we get you comfortable," Carol promised. "There's something you should know, first."

Macyn frowned and looked between the two women. "What is it?"

Lori took over the conversation. "Rick, Glenn and Dale had been looking for you all day. They couldn't find you, so they needed someone with tracking skills. Daryl wasn't ready for that, so they brought Merle."

"I know, I saw him."

"In order for them to convince Merle to help find you, Daryl had to make a deal with him," Lori continued. "We have to leave in the next few days. We can't take you with us."

Macyn's heart fell. She tried not to cry. "You all have done what you had to do to keep me alive. I understand."

Carol propped up some extra pillows around her. "Until we leave, someone will be outside your door or sitting in here with you – one of the men – to make sure Willy lets you at least heal a little bit before he gets at you again. I'm so sorry, Macyn."

"Don't apologize, Carol. You all took my side when you didn't have to do anything to help me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that."

Carol nodded and left the room just behind Lori, promising to send Daryl in to see her. Macyn leaned back on the pillows and blinked back the tears. She didn't want Daryl to know they had already told her about his deal with Merle, and even if one of the women told him that she knew, Macyn didn't want him to think she faulted him.


	9. Take 'Em Away

_Take 'em away, take 'em away, Lord  
Take away these chains from me  
My heart is broken 'cause my spirit's not free  
Lord take away these chains from me  
Some birds' feathers are too bright to be caged  
I know I'm not that colorful but a bird just the same_

Daryl slipped quietly into Macyn's room; Rick was dutifully standing guard outside the door in case Willy decided to snap again.

A thick fog of tension had settled into the underground shelter since the men came back with Macyn. Rick was able to convince Willy to let them stay a couple more days to make a plan of where they would go next. Daryl witnessed the conversation and had a sneaking suspicion that deep down, Willy was concerned about Macyn's condition and wanted Carol and Lori around to care for the younger woman.

So, perhaps it was also Macyn's well-being that caused Willy to turn a blind eye when Daryl shut the door behind him. Willy had caused enough chaos to have everyone up in arms over him, and he wasn't prepared to have the majority, if not all of the group, up against him.

Ignoring thoughts about what would happen with Willy once Macyn's health was back up to par, Daryl walked slowly to the bed. He was careful to look over every bruise, cut, and scratch on her body. He thought that she looked terrible after Merle and Willy had crossed paths with her in the woods, but that was nothing compared to this. There didn't seem to be an inch on her body that wasn't marred with injury, and it fired up a rage in Daryl like he hadn't experienced before.

"I was asking for you," Macyn told him.

Daryl sat carefully on the edge of the bed next to her. "They told me. How do you feel?"

"Sore. Tired. I thought I wasn't going to ever see you again." Tears slowly fell down her cheeks; Daryl's heart surged with protectiveness over her.

"I'm so sorry I didn't take you away from here sooner. This never would have happened …"

Macyn put a hand on his arm. "It could have happened at any time. You can't blame yourself for what Willy did."

"Trust me when I say that I'm not waiting much longer now. As soon as you're healthy enough to travel, I'm getting you the hell out of here."

Her heart broke; he didn't know that she had been told of his deal with Merle. "I know you will, Daryl. Stay with me for a little bit, will you? I don't want to be alone but I won't feel safe enough to sleep without you."

Daryl obliged her, kicking off his boots before crawling into the bed and spooning up behind her. Her eyelids were getting heavy. Sleep wasn't far off for Macyn.

"What did you do before this?" she asked.

"Before we came here?"

She shook her head. "Before everything went pear-shaped."

Daryl thought for a moment before answering. "Doesn't matter."

Her tired eyes opened, and Macyn frowned at him. "Why not?"

"Because," he answered firmly. "Anything I did before you doesn't matter."

Macyn closed her eyes again and smiled contentedly. Daryl pulled her close, stroking her hair until she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

.&.

Willy strolled out of his room and set a mischievous smirk at Rick where he stood outside of Macyn's room.

"I'm not done with her, you know that, right? You can try and protect her now, but I know the deal that Merle made with y'all to find her. She'll be mine again in just a few days."

Rick shook his head and didn't reply. He could tell Willy how disgusting it was for a man to let the woman he supposedly loved so much he literally would rather let her die than let her be with someone else – how could he let another man ever tough her? If it had been Lori, Rick knew, he would have left his own home with Carl and Lori before he would let another man have her, even for a few days.

His thoughts went beyond that, too. What was going to happen when they left? They were throwing Macyn to one vicious dog, letting her just stay in this shelter with Willy Slater. But, they made the deal with Merle; Rick couldn't see a way around it, could only hope that Daryl had something else in mind.

Willy was obviously disappointed that he wasn't going to get a rise out of Rick, so he mumbled something about going on a meat run, gathered up some gear and had Merle join him. Rick hated to admit it, but besides Macyn and Daryl, those two were probably the best team to be hunting in the area.

"Dad?"

Rick looked over at his son and smiled. "Hey, Carl. You all right?"

Carl nodded. "Is Macyn going to die?"

Rick crouched down to Carl's level. "She's going to be fine."

"Willy hurt her really bad."

"You're right," Rick confirmed. "But Macyn is a very smart doctor, and she told your mom and Carol how to make sure she stays okay."

"Why is he so mean to her? Doesn't he love her?"

God, how did he explain this to his young son? "Well, Carl, he says he does, but sometimes … sometimes people who say they love someone, they don't know how to show it. There can be a lot of reasons for that, and we'll probably never know the right one."

"Do you think Macyn loves Willy?"

Carl hadn't asked this many questions in years; Rick could only surmise one thing. "You like Macyn a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah. She's nice."

"She is. I don't think she loves Willy. I think she's scared that he'll hurt her or worse, so she does what she has to do to survive."

"What about Daryl?"

"What about him, son?"

Carl shrugged. "I want him to take care of Macyn."

Rick smiled. "He's going to do whatever he can, I think."

.&.

"Tell me about your husband, please."

Carol looked up from the water-filled basin in an attempt to judge by Macyn's countenance if she had really asked that. Indeed, the younger woman was looking back at her with a pleading look on her face.

"He was a monster."

It seemed as though that was all she was going to offer, so Macyn nodded and looked away. She knew that Ed Peletier had died, but she wanted to know how. With a sympathetic curiosity, Macyn wanted to know what Carol had gone through. She wanted to know that a woman could be terrified every day of her life and still have hope that it would go away one day.

"I prayed every day that God would change him," Carol continued, gingerly laying the washcloth she had been using to help Macyn clean up a bit more on the side of the basin. "That he would love me again … that he would see Sophia as his daughter – the way a father should. But it just never happened. Then the infection came. I was selfish and foolish to think that this was God's reckoning for Ed and every other terrible person in the world. I didn't realize until it got to Sophia that it was punishing all of us."

Macyn swallowed. "What happened to Ed?"

Carol took a deep breath. "The first camp we were at, outside of Atlanta … there was an attack. They got to Ed first. He was dead before any of us really knew what was going on. Daryl had the job of doing in the corpses – I couldn't let him do that to Ed. I did it. All those years of beatings and of him touching Sophia and … just, _everything_. It came out every time I brought that tool down into his skull."

Macyn didn't know what to say. She couldn't say she hadn't had the same thought about Willy, but something had always stopped her from killing him in his sleep or after he passed out after a drinking binge. She wasn't like Willy; she couldn't hurt someone.

"I know what you're thinking," Carol told her. "You're thinking that you're not like him – that you're not a violent person."

Macyn raised her brows. "That's almost exactly what I'm thinking."

Carol gave her a sympathetic smile. "I thought that for a long time. Even when Ed was already gone, it took some gumption to bash his head in. It becomes a point of survival, Macyn. Ed would have risen up and attacked us. Willy _will _try again to kill you, and he won't stop until he's done it. If Daryl leaves you here – and I don't see him doing that without a serious fight – Willy may not physically kill you, but he'll break you down until you don't care whether you're alive or dead."

She picked up the washcloth again, and Macyn could tell the conversation was actually over at that point. While Carol helped her clean her wounds and re-bandage as necessary, Macyn thought about what the woman had said, and everything clicked.

Macyn wasn't a violent person, but she was a survivor.

.&.

They all ate well that night. Willy and Merle had managed to find and kill a couple of rabbits in addition to bringing back some fish to fry up. Since it would probably be their last good meal before leaving the underground shelter, the group tried to eat as much as possible.

After supper, Glenn volunteered to take the night watch at Macyn's door. Willy made a smart remark about the group trying to keep Macyn safe while they could, but he was mostly ignored. He took a bottle of whiskey to his room with him, seemingly disappeared for the night.

Daryl waited for everyone else to settle down before slipping back into Macyn's room. He crawled back into the bed with her and kissed her sweetly.

"I was hoping you would come back," Macyn admitted. "I like when you're here when I sleep."

"I like being here when you sleep," Daryl returned. He ran his fingers carefully through her hair. "There's something I have to tell you."

Macyn nodded. "If it's about the deal with Merle, I already know."

Daryl frowned. "How?"

"Lori and Carol thought I should know. I didn't want to say anything until you were ready to talk about it."

"I don't know, Macyn." He ran a hand over his face and into his hair. "I thought that I'd be able to find a loophole or convince him otherwise, but he seems pretty set on this."

"He's your brother. I know he loves you, so I don't understand why he doesn't want you happy."

"It's exactly what you told him before," Daryl told her. "He's afraid I'll leave him behind. If you're with me, Macyn, you've got to be with him, too. I know he's hurt you, and I know he's helped Willy hurt you, but –"

Macyn interrupted him. "You don't have to tell me that, Daryl. Your family is my family. Maybe you should let me talk to Merle. Plead my case."

Daryl took a deep breath and considered it. Although it was possibly their last option, he was hesitant to let her anywhere near Merle. Daryl loved his brother but – well, he'd just said it himself. Merle'd had a hand in hurting Macyn a couple of times.

"I can read that look on your face," Macyn said. "I hate to be stubborn, but this is something I think I need to do. I'll do it with or without you thinkin' it's okay."

"At least let me sleep on it."

Macyn agreed; Daryl pulled her close again. They settled into a peaceful sleep. Daryl was comforted by having Macyn so close and knowing she was okay. Macyn slept restfully, knowing she was safe in Daryl's arms. That peace only lasted them so long, however.

Just after sunrise, Macyn was riled from sleep by somebody pulling Daryl out of the bed. She didn't have to look hard to know it was Willy. Daryl fought hard against him, but somehow the other man overpowered Daryl; Macyn had an idea that Willy's extra strength came from that bottle of whiskey he had taken into his room the night before.

"Willy, what are you doing?" Macyn yelled, scrambling out of the bed after them. She grimaced in pain, yelling for the others as she got up the steps and out of the house as quickly as she could.

Willy had Daryl on his knees in front of the house with a gun at the back of his head. Willy was growling about how Daryl came in and tried to steal his woman, and if he couldn't get rid of Macyn, well, he'd just get rid of Daryl.

Glenn, Rick, and Merle came bounding out of the house, all of them drawing on Willy.

"You three better step back," Willy warned. "Won't take nothing to kill him before you can even kill me."

"You're not that quick," Rick growled back. "Put the gun down, Willy."

"Please. I'll stay. I'll do whatever you want," Macyn begged as the tears rolled down her cheeks. She ran to Glenn and wrestled the gun from his hands; it didn't take much. She put the barrel to her head and kneeled in front of Daryl, facing Willy. "You want me dead? I'll do it myself, but you have to let him go. You haven't loved me for a long time, Willy Slater, and I know you just don't want anyone else to have me. Let Daryl live, please, and I'll put a bullet right through my brain."

"Macyn, no," Daryl said, shaking his head. "Put the gun down. I ain't worth it."

"See there," Willy told her. "He knows it himself that he ain't worth it."

"He is to me," Macyn answered. She cocked the gun and used her free arm to wipe the tears from her bruised face. "What's it going to be, Willy?"

"Take her up on it," Merle encouraged Willy. "Keep me out of quite predicament."

Daryl glared at his brother. "No, this is my deal. Macyn, you can't take this on yourself.

"Yes, I can. I don't want to live without you," she answered. Her eyes met with Willy's; he shook his head. "Willy, please. If you ever wanted to do one thing for me, let this be it. Then it'll be done."

"No, I want _him_," Willy answered. "Get up off your knees, girl."

Macyn lowered her gun and her head. She had tried, but she just couldn't get them out of this. She looked at Daryl.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't know it was going to turn out this way."

"Don't apologize," Daryl told her. "You made my life worth livin'."

Macyn nodded and struggled to get to her feet. She let out a deep breath; Willy's eyes were trained on the back of Daryl's head, still. She might never get another chance like this again.

"Willy, look at me."

He looked up at her, and Macyn gave him just enough time to process that he was staring down the barrel of her gun before she pulled the trigger.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for FanFicGirl10 for always reviewing! I look forward to your feedback every time I post a chapter! At least I know someone is reading! Also, I think this is going to round out at about 15 chapters ... we'll see though. :) Thanks for reading!  
**


	10. We Don't Grow Tobacco

_We been farmin' on this land  
Since eighteen hundred ten  
Through flood and drought  
And pestilence and war  
Now I sure am sad to say  
That I've lived to see this day  
When we don't grow tobacco  
'Round here no more_

Everything was silent for a full minute. Macyn immediately dropped to her knees, the gun held limply in her hand. She stared at Willy's body, at that hole in his heart. Blood poured from the wound, and Willy sputtered occasionally as his last breaths left his body.

Macyn crawled next to him; her chest heaved with heavy breaths. It was almost too much to process that it had all happened like this. Killing Willy Slater had crossed her mind several times in the past, but she never thought it would happen like this.

Finally, Willy's chest heaved in one last great effort to breathe and, when his lungs failed, his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He was dead.

Macyn didn't move. She gripped the gun tight in her hand and waited. She knew what would come next. Rick stepped forward, pointing his own gun at Willy's head. When the hammer cocked back, Macyn snapped from her reverie.

"Don't," she snapped. "Don't you pull that trigger."

"Macyn," Daryl spoke up, putting a hand on her shoulder. "He's going to come back. We have to stop it before it happens."

She shrugged Daryl's hand away from her. "No. I'm going to wait right here, and when this son of a bitch turns, I'm going to kill him again."

Daryl backed away and headed for the house, kicking at the dirt in irritation before he worked himself up the steps and back to the shelter. The others exchanged glances, and, oddly, Merle offered to wait outside with her.

Rick looked skeptical. "Why would you want to do that?"

"It ain't for her or you," Merle replied. "It's for my brother."

Rick exchanged a glance with the others, decided maybe it was all right, and headed back inside. If worse came to worst, they could come out and check on the trio if their return took too long.

Macyn let silent tears fall as she waited for Willy to reanimate. If there was any benefit to this zombie apocalypse, it was the opportunity it would give her to kill the bastard twice.

"You're so in love with Daryl, why are you crying over Willy Slater?" Merle asked gruffly.

"Wouldn't expect you to understand," Macyn replied, wiping her tears away. "You're always the one puttin' people through shit. Never thought about what it'd be like to go through some shit yourself."

Merle cocked his jaw before crouching down to her level. "That's where you're wrong, little girl. What I been through ain't much different than your life – just didn't quite make it to doctor school like you did. I got out and had to make a life for myself."

Macyn said nothing, simply aimed her gun at that spot between Willy's eyes when she saw his fingers twitch. It wouldn't be too much longer now.

"I know why you're cryin'," Merle told her. "I'd like to catch some reason that you aren't good enough for Daryl – like that you might still be in love with Willy Slater. I know he wasn't a good man. I'm not a good man either, Macyn. Daryl, he's a good man. Deserves a good woman like you. Willy used to tell me all the time when I first met him how good a woman you are. Said he didn't treat you right. You're crying because there were good times, but mostly because you're relieved the bad ones are over."

Macyn sniffled as she carefully stood, still with the gun aimed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Willy's eyes opened, but they weren't the eyes Macyn knew. They were drained of color and blood and weren't really staring at anything in particular. That now familiar groaning noise the walkers made rumbled from deep in his throat. Macyn wiped her tears once and for all, took aim, and pulled the trigger.

.&.

Rick and the other men took care of burning Willy's body. No use in burying him – no family was going to come and ask to see a grave. They were all gone already. Macyn had seen that happen with her own eyes.

When it was all over, Merle helped her back in the house where Lori and Carol helped her back into the bed. The two women made sure she had a glass of water on the bedside table and left her to rest.

Daryl chewed on his fingernails while he waited for them to come out of her room. He stopped Carol, questioning her about Macyn's state.

"She's tired," Carol told him. "I think she's been carrying the weight of the world for so long and now that Willy's gone, she's relieved. She needs to rest."

"She killed him twice, you know," Daryl told her. "Purposefully shot him in the heart so he'd come back and she could shoot him again."

Carol frowned. "And that bothers you?"

"I don't know," Daryl shrugged. "Why'd she have to drag it out? I mean, ain't she been through enough, she couldn't just end it?"

"You wanna talk to me about this, or you specifically want Carol's opinion?" Macyn asked from the doorway to her room.

Carol quietly excused herself; Daryl followed Macyn into her room, closing the door behind her.

"I just don't get it – he nearly killed you, Macyn. You had that gun pointed at his head and you moved your aim. I don't understand."

"What if it was your dad?" Macyn returned. "Or your mother. Imagine everything they did to you, Daryl. Killing Willy once to stop him from killing you wasn't enough. I'm not saying that I wouldn't kill Willy again if the only reason was to save you. All I'm saying is I think I deserve a little vengeance against him, too."

"What the hell are you sayin'?"

"I'm sayin', if your dad or your mom had that gun pointed at me, you would just shoot them in the head right off? You wouldn't give yourself the chance to kill them twice – to get back at them for what they did to you?"

Daryl let out a deep breath and pulled her to his chest. "You're right. I'm sorry. You've already been through so much just in the time we've known you, and I hate to see you go through more."

"That's why I did what I did," Macyn said, breathing in Daryl's smell. "So I wouldn't have to deal anymore with anything Willy could bring on."

Daryl kissed her forehead. "All right. Get some rest."

"You need rest, too. Will you stay with me and we can sleep?"

Daryl agreed and let her choose a side of the bed first. He covered her up, then laid down next to her, stroking her hair like he had the night before.

"I just want to sleep for hours," Macyn muttered as sleep once again claimed her healing body.

Daryl nuzzled into her hair, thinking that sounded like a very good idea.

.&.

And it was indeed a good fifteen hours before Macyn roused from sleep. Daryl was still peacefully sleeping beside her, so she carefully removed herself from his hold and covered him up. She pulled her sun-bleached hair into a messy bun and tiptoed into the hallway.

"Evenin'," Lori smiled at her. "How are you feeling?"

Macyn hugged her arms around herself. "Not too bad. Better now that I've slept. It's really nighttime?"

"You were out for a good fifteen hours," Lori informed her. "I'm just cleaning up from a late supper. Saved you some though."

"Not really hungry." She looked around. "Where's Merle?"

"Out keeping watch on the porch," Lori replied in a suspicious tone. "Why are you lookin' for Merle?"

"Just need to talk to him. I'll be out there."

She went back to her room for a gun and some boots. Daryl was still sleeping and she hoped he would stay asleep until she could have her conversation with Merle.

"Weren't you and Daryl all lovey-dovey sleepin' the time away?" Merle snorted when she sat next to him on the porch.

"He's still sleeping," Macyn replied. "I came out to talk to you."

"What could you possibly have to say to me, Macyn Ballard? You shot and killed my one remaining ally in this gone-to-shit world today, I'll remind you."

"Oh, that's a moment I'll never forget," she assured him. "But he wasn't your only ally, Merle Dixon. You've still got your brother."

Merle rolled his eyes.

"And me," Macyn continued. "I know you don't like me. You think I'm a know-it-all who just might be too smart for her own damn good. You think I'm just gonna be trouble for your brother – and I'll admit while it wasn't necessarily my fault, I did have something to do with what Willy did to him. But I don't want to be trouble for Daryl. I want to make things better for him. Things are different now, but one thing that's the same is this: family comes first. The family that sticks around, anyway. I don't have any family left but those people inside the shelter, Merle. And Daryl, he means the most to me. Can't hide that. You're his brother – you're Daryl's family. And any family of Daryl's is family of mine. I may not like you much, you may not like me much, and we probably would butt heads more often than not, but I'm not gonna let you die. Even if it means giving up my own life."

Merle looked at her. "So if it had been me with that gun to my head this morning, you would have done the same thing?"

"Without hesitation," Macyn answered, not skipping a beat.

Merle looked her in the eye; there was no hesitation, no deceit there. She meant every word she was saying.

"Go back inside," Merle directed her. "You are too damn smart for your own good, little girl."

Macyn noticed the slight smirk on his face; maybe she had won Merle over, for the time being anyway.

.&.

A couple of weeks later, Macyn was ready to get back to hunting and taking watches on a regular basis. Daryl didn't much like putting her in danger, but in these days, that was something that just had to be compromised on. She and Merle even seemed to be getting on just fine, which Macyn said she knew the reason for but refused to tell Daryl about. Just told him it was between her and Merle.

"Taking Carl with us today," Rick announced as he, Daryl, and Macyn readied for a hunt.

Macyn looked at Daryl, and he shrugged his agreeance. Carl beamed with pride as Rick handed him a hatchet and a gun, and gave him a few instructions on how to use both.

Macyn had to smile. In a world gone to pot, it was nice to see these father-son moments could still take place.

"What are you smiling for, girl?" Daryl teased. "You're not getting soft on me, are ya?"

Macyn gave him a flirtatious smile back. "You'd rather have a girl who was hard? Didn't feel nothin' at all?"

Daryl shook his head. "No, I guess not."

"Y'all be careful out there," Lori warned as she watched them go from the front porch. "Don't let my son get too far out of your sight."

Macyn turned back to give Lori an acknowledging wave and when she turned back, Daryl and Carl had gone ahead; Rick was by her side.

"She worries every time I leave that house. Could have lost each other real easy when all this shit went down, and several times since then."

"I know what you mean. It ain't easy to watch all this happen," Macyn nodded. "I grew up right in this town, Rick. I don't know how it hit where y'all were livin', but here it was gradual. Started with Mrs. Sanderson, just down the street. Police told people she went crazy after her husband died and started doing some weird-ass drugs, made her act the way she did. After that though, the Pastor got sick. Then Ellie Frantz, the old lady who always had something nice to say to everyone, even the worst in town. They just started dropping like flies, then comin' right back. Every time another one got sick, Willy'd tell me the end was comin'. Then, when they started reporting it was happening in other places, that it was a worldwide plague, we had to get real careful at the hospital. Every patient who came in was assumed to have it. We didn't know then that whether that was their ailment or not, it was the truth."

Rick swallowed hard and took a look at his son a few yards ahead. "I wish I didn't have to raise Carl in this mess. I'm not sayin' I'm disappointed that I found him and Lori, just that … I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't even think like that."

Macyn shook her head. "I get that, too. I used to think I'd give anything for Robbie to come back. Takes on a new meaning now, but even if he came back the brother I knew before he went overseas – no. It's just better he doesn't have to be around any of this."

Nothing else was said as they caught up to Daryl and Carl. They were not far off from the woods now. Macyn thought a lot about what she had told Rick. Even these woods – the very woods where Robbie had taught her how to shoot and how to hunt – were no longer the way she remembered them. Every plant and tree seemed to be nearly dead, and the animals were scarce, also a result of the walkers that came through. Things were just never going to be the way they were before.

Still, some of that held promise. Willy was gone, and he would never hurt her again. Same with her father. She was starting a new life, she felt like, even among all the chaos. She had Daryl, and, it seemed, Merle. They were her immediate family now.

The first of Daryl's arrows sailed through the air at a walker coming near them. Macyn watched the man pull the arrow from between the eyes of the creature and realized that a new life of blessings came with its fair share of curses, too.


	11. Country Gal

_Hey good-lookin' country gal  
Hey pretty mama, let the good times roll  
'Cause this ole bird dog's rarin' to go  
Now when it comes to farmin', a-foolin' around  
Let's strike a match and burn the barn down_

The four of them came back with big grins. Carl had actually had the biggest kill of the day. Deer was still rare enough to be a good change from squirrel and rabbit, so they were excited to show him how to clean the kill; Carl couldn't wait to get home and tell everyone.

"I like that we have a place to call home," he told Macyn as he walked beside her.

"Yeah?" she returned. "Well, I like that you guys are part of my home."

"I always wanted a sister. Guess I kind of have one now."

With that, he ran ahead to the house. Daryl just chuckled, and Rick looked slightly mortified.

"Does that make you kind of like my dad?" Macyn teased Rick.

"I guess so," Rick finally laughed.

Carl reach the house first. His yells from up ahead changed their jovial mood; it put the three adults on immediate alert. They ran ahead, dropping the deer meat on the porch.

What they saw was a bloody mess just at the door of the shelter. Three zombies were sprawled across the floor, their skulls bashed in and their bodies entirely lifeless. Not far away, Dale was on the floor, the entire contents of his abdomen spilled out onto the floor. His eyes conveyed fear but stared out into nothingness. Macyn stepped forward from behind Daryl and Rick to see T-Dawg on the steps, blood pouring from his neck.

"Tried to save him, but they caught us off guard," T-Dawg told her as he reached out for her hand. "Wasn't ready fast enough. Guess I deserve what I got for that."

Macyn shook her head and tried not to cry too hard. "I'm sure you did what you could."

Everyone gathered around T-Dawg, doing their best to make him comfortable; death was inevitable. Even with a trained surgeon around, it was too late. There was no way Macyn could save him.

When the walkers were burned, and T-Dawg and Dale were safely buried behind the house, they all sat down at the table. No one was in the mood to eat; even Merle seemed to be affected by the deaths in their little family.

"What happened?" Macyn finally asked.

"Dale was going out to get some fresh air. T-Dawg realized he didn't have a gun or anything, so he picked one up and went after Dale. They must have come into the house because we heard Dale screaming almost as soon as the door opened," Carol informed them.

"Andrea and I killed the walkers, but they had already gutted Dale and bit T-Dawg," Glenn added.

Macyn wiped a quiet tear. "It isn't fair. I just got a good family. Ain't right to have some of 'em taken away already."

Lori put an arm around the younger girl. "We all feel that way. It's been a long day, and we should get some rest."

Andrea and Carol cleared the table and cleaned up the kitchen while the Grimes family retreated to their room. Merle was even somber and quiet and disappeared without saying much of anything.

"I'm going to keep a watch tonight," Macyn announced, changing into a fresh shirt and jeans. "Somebody should, especially after today."

Daryl shook his head. "No. Rick said we all stay in tonight – we need to just have some downtime."

"And what," Macyn snapped back. "Open the door tomorrow to a house full of walkers? Let someone else get killed? Not while I'm around. Rick isn't in charge here."

"He hasn't steered us wrong yet. He's sure as hell looked out for you."

Macyn closed the bedroom door and leaned her forehead against it. "I'm sad, Daryl. I'm not used to being able to feel sad without being punished for it."

Daryl pressed his lips into a thin line and quietly approached her. He took her hand and turned her to face him; Macyn's back was against the door. Daryl reached up and wiped the tears from her cheeks and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"You don't have to hide that from me," he promised her. "Don't ever have to hide anything from me." He leaned down and kissed her softly, almost hesitantly. "I'll never hurt you for feeling the way you feel. I promise."

"I know," she whispered, working her fingers into his hair and kissing him again. "I promise I'll never leave you."

Daryl gave a slight nod before slipping his hands down her sides. He got a good hold on her legs and lifted her off the ground; Macyn wrapped her legs around his middle and tugged slightly on his hair.

"We don't have to do this," Daryl told her, thinking of what Willy had put her through just weeks before.

"Daryl, don't ruin this. Just let it happen."

He smiled, pulled her away from the door and walked them carefully over to the bed. He set her on the edge of the bed and kissed her forehead, her nose, her cheeks, and finally her lips. Macyn's hands came up to his face, keeping his lips at hers.

"Promise me that you'll stay safe, for me. And for Merle," she added. "I don't think either of us know how to live without you."

"Merle'd be the one I would worry about," Daryl said, sitting beside her. "You lived a long time without me, and you'd live a long time after me. Merle though – he'd really lose it."

Macyn shook her head. "I wouldn't let him."

Daryl's heart surged. She cared about Merle because he cared about Merle, despite everything Merle had done to her, and that meant the world to him. He kissed her again, pushing her back against the bed. She quickly undid the buttons on his shirt and pushed it off of his shoulders. He stood long enough for the both of them to kick off their socks and boots, then crawled back over her on the bed.

Daryl helped Macyn pull her shirt over her head. Scars from years of beatings and abuse immediately came into view. Daryl slowly ran his hand over each one, from her shoulders, over her ribs, across her abdomen, and final rested on the scar just between her hips – the one that was too precisely straight to have come from some type of injury. He had a good idea where it came from, but he didn't know what to say.

Macyn's hand floated down to cover his. "Not too long after Willy and I started dating, I found out I was pregnant. I was six months along when we got engaged. Then, he flipped. He wasn't the same guy I fell in love with and was looking forward to having a family with. I was not quite eight months along when he beat me so bad, it sent me into early labor. They ended up having to take the baby by c-section, but it was stillborn."

His eyes met her tearful ones, and he left the scar alone to wipe away the tears. "I'm sorry, Macyn."

She shook her head and wiped her tears. "It doesn't matter anymore. As much as I wanted that baby, even after Willy flipped, I would never put a child through the life that I had. No baby deserves that."

Daryl lowered himself down to his elbows, pushed her hair away from her face and kissed both of her cheeks before kissing her lips. "I promise to always be good to you."

"I know."

With that, she claimed his lips again, sitting up just enough so she could reach around and unclasp the hook on her bra. The garment fell away, and Daryl took in the sight before carefully massaging one breast and then the other. Macyn's body arched underneath him, and her breath came in quick gasps – none so sharp as when he moved his mouth to her breasts.

Overcome with amazing sensations, Macyn pushed him up and against the nearby wall. She kissed him passionately, undoing the button and fly on his pants before pushing her hand into them and seeking out his most intimate place. Her hand stroked at him, and Daryl could barely contain himself.

He picked her up and carried her back to the bed, shoving his pants away from his legs. He quickly pulled hers away, and finally she was there, naked in front of him. He kissed her sweetly before leaving her mouth to kiss along her jaw, down her through, between her breasts and over her abdomen, until his mouth began to play between her thighs.

Macyn tried to keep herself quiet, but what Daryl was doing was something that made silence nearly impossible. She begged him not to tease her any longer, and he obliged her. Carefully and slowly, Daryl pushed himself into Macyn.

She wrapped her arms and legs around him, and Daryl held her as close as he could. He warned her that this wouldn't last long, but Macyn didn't mind. She was already on the edge of ecstasy.

It took just a few more minutes; they finished within seconds of each other. When it was over, Macyn rolled over searching for her clothes.

"Hey," Daryl beckoned, pulled her naked body against his. "What are you doing?"

Macyn shrugged. "Guess I'm used to just getting it done with and having that be that."

"Not with me," Daryl smiled. "We'll stay close until you're ready to turn away."

"What if I'm never ready?"

"Then I guess we'll just stay here forever."

.&.

Macyn woke the next morning to a pounding on the bedroom door. She quickly clothed herself before tossing Daryl his clothes. She cracked the door to see an angry Merle on the other side.

"What is it, Merle?"

"I'm here to see my brother."

"He'll be out in a minute, he's getting dressed."

"Ain't got nothin' I haven't seen before," Merle mumbled before pushing his way past her and into the room. Macyn glared but slipped out to join the others for breakfast.

"Thought the two of you were on good terms," Daryl mentioned as he quickly pulled his pants on to his legs and fastened the button.

Merle shook his head. "We're not safe here, brother."

Daryl frowned. "The hell we ain't. Safest we've been since the shit hit the fan."

"You saw what happened yesterday," Merle corrected. "Both them men were here, in this house. They still died."

"That was a fluke," Daryl told him, quickly fastening the buttons on his shirt now.

"Was it? Because if you ask me it was Willy Slater sending a message from the afterlife."

"Since when did you get all supernatural? This shelter is the most safety and resources we're ever gonna find, Merle. Ain't no place that's one hundred percent safe. Not anymore."

"Back in that town, it is." Merle stopped Daryl from leaving the room. "I know, I might be crazy to go back after what I done. Thing is, they have more security there – they got walls and a twenty-four-seven watch."

Daryl eyed his brother suspiciously. "You don't want to die. You're scared. You were scared of Macyn takin' me away, and now I see you're scared of dying. For the big tough man you claim to be, Merle Dixon, you are the most scared bastard I've ever come across."

Daryl left the room to find Macyn in the hallway. He kissed her briefly, and she caught him by the hand.

"After breakfast, I want to take you somewhere. Please."

Daryl nodded. "Yeah, okay. You all right?"

"Yeah, fine."

Daryl promised after some breakfast, they would gear up and go wherever she wanted to go.

.&.

They rode Daryl's motorcycle to a house about ten miles from the shelter. He helped Macyn off the back of the bike, then climbed off himself. Macyn stood in front of the house, her own crossbow in hand. She hadn't been here a couple of months, but it hadn't changed too much. There was nothing left for walkers to forage, and even before the epidemic, it had looked too run down to loot anything from it. Only Macyn knew the treasures left inside.

"This is where I grew up," she told him as they walked through the front door. "I need to get some things from my mother's trunk. Just wanted you to see the place. It hasn't been a pretty house since before my mother died, but … I don't know."

"I get it," Daryl nodded. "Should have told me she had a trunk. We could've brought the truck or a car. Brought the whole thing back with us."

Macyn smirked. "Yeah, I guess I don't really have to hide it here anymore. I used to wait to go on runs while Willy was passed out drunk and come get stuff, like the rosary."

"How about you give me a tour, then we'll get what you need out of the trunk?" Daryl suggested.

Macyn agreed and continued to show him the different rooms. There were mostly bad memories in each and every room. Even Robbie's room held little more than thoughts of good days long past her.

Finally, they came to the small room that had been Macyn's mother's in her last days. The trunk was a hefty piece at the foot of the bed; Daryl sat on the bare mattress while Macyn produced a key to open the trunk.

"This is her," Macyn beamed, handing him a picture that was yellowed and dog-eared. "She was about my age there, actually. Robbie was already born, but I don't think they were pregnant with me yet."

Daryl looked over the picture with a smile. "She's beautiful. You look like her."

"Thanks," Macyn smiled, taking the picture back. She went through the remnants of the trunk. There wasn't a lot left in there, but it would be better to come back with a vehicle and bring it back to the shelter sooner rather than later.

At the bottom of the trunk, was the small, black velvet box that Macyn was looking for. She quickly stuffed it into her pack before slinging it back on her shoulders and hurrying for the door.

"We should get going."

"Wait," Daryl said, catching her hand. "What's in that box?"

Macyn shook her head. "Nothing. Let's just go."

"No, now wait. I thought we weren't keepin' secrets?"

"This is something that … it's not a secret, Daryl. I just … I don't want you to think that I – or that we – I mean, I don't know how you'll … react, I guess."

Daryl gave her a pointed look. "Come on, darlin'. Show me. I promise not to flip shit or anything."

Macyn let out a deep breath and retrieved the box from her pack. She opened it up to reveal a solid gold band and, to the right of that, a perfect wedding set.

"These were my parents' wedding rings. I've always left them here because I didn't know what Willy would do with them if he got a hold of 'em, but now that he's gone, I guess it's okay to bring them to the house."

"Now that he's gone, and now that you're with me?" Daryl asked. Macyn raised her brow at him. "It's all right, Macyn. I'd marry you, if I had the chance."

She grinned and kissed him for all she was worth. There was no way he could have known how he made her heart soar.


	12. Boll Weevil

_Now the boll weevil said to the farmer,_

_Now what do ya think of that  
Come on down to my house_

_Make a home in my old straw hat  
Lookin' for a home  
Yeah lookin' for a home_

Macyn raised a finger to her lips, motioning for Rick to be quiet. They were close enough to their targets now, one sudden movement could cause a complete uproar.

The two of them had been on a hunt with Glenn when they spotted the older man and two younger women wandering through the woods. The older of the two women swore she knew of a house nearby that seemed to be uninhabited. Rick, Macyn, and Glenn exchanged glances; there was no way they meant any other house than the shelter. Even with Dale, T-Dawg, and Willy all gone, they were not far off from capacity in the shelter; the fewer they took in, the longer their resources would last.

Glenn had gone back to the house to warn everyone else while Macyn and Rick doubled back behind the travelers. The group looked haggard and hungry. Macyn felt for them, but being in that condition was nothing new for this day and age.

Macyn was perched in a tree at the edge of the woods when the small group spotted the house. Rick was not far off below, parked behind a large rock.

"There," the brown-haired girl said, pointing to the house. "Not too much further off now."

The man frowned. "It looks too well taken care of to be abandoned, Maggie."

The younger, blonde girl tipped her head. "We could always just take a look around, Daddy. Maybe they can at least help us get some food before we move on."

Macyn made eye contact with Rick. The group seemed innocent enough, but it was too hard to tell now how people could turn on others. The both of them had seen enough to evidence that. They had to protect what was theirs.

The ambush happened all at once. Rick gained control of the older man while Macyn jumped down from the tree and restrained the older girl. The blonde girl pointed a shaky pistol at Macyn, who quickly pulled the gun from her waistband and pointed it back at the girl.

"We ain't here to kill y'all," Macyn explained. "Just simply would like to explain that the house is already claimed."

"This is a little much for a simple explanation, isn't it?" the old man argued. "My daughters and I have been on the road for months, after our farm was taken over. We've lost family and friends."

"Tell me something I haven't heard before," Rick returned. "I'm sure y'all are just fine people, but we have nothing for you. Best to keep moving on."

Macyn looked over to the blonde girl. While she still had the gun drawn on Macyn, her hands were shaking with the unfamiliar contact of the weapon. Her tank top clung to her ribs, which Macyn could count through the girl's shirt. The older girl's eyes were surrounded by dark circles – a sure sign of fatigue and hunger. The old man's features were similar. Macyn let out a deep sigh and dropped her gun back into her waistband before loosening her hold on the brunette.

"Let 'em go, Rick. Least we can do is feed 'em."

Rick raised her brow. "Excuse me?"

Macyn shook her head. "Doctor in me is coming out, I guess. Look at the three of 'em. They haven't eaten in days – that girl doesn't even know what to do with that gun after she points it. I'll give y'all a chance but you had better pray that you don't make me regret this decision."

The three family members exchanged glances and the older man extended his hand out to Rick, then Macyn.

"I'm Hershel Greene. These are my daughters, Maggie and Beth."

"I'm Rick Grimes. This is here is Macyn Ballard, owner of the house and the shelter."

"Shelter?" Beth asked.

Macyn smiled. "Paradise compared to everything out here."

.&.

And, indeed, the Greene family was in awe of the modern-day paradise waiting for them in the shelter. While everyone was skeptical of the newcomers at first, most of them warmed up to Hershel and his daughters – everyone except for Merle.

"We're takin' in too many," he whispered loudly to his brother later. "I get that it's Macyn's call, but she's your woman now – maybe you need to rein her in a little bit."

Daryl shook his head. "C'mon, brother. Everyone's getting along, there's peace in the house. Hershel and the girls seem like good people – and we don't even know if they're going to stay."

"Yeah, well, if they stay, I'm out – and I don't expect to be leavin' on my own, _brother_."

"What are you so anxious to get out for? What are you not telling me?" Daryl demanded.

Merle shook his head. "Wouldn't make any difference no way. Macyn is attached to this place, and you're attached to her. I'd just be careful if I was you – we take in too many, we'll all end up dead. Mark my words."

Macyn came out of the bathroom with a frown on her face. Merle bid them good night and disappeared into his room. She looked to Daryl, who just shook his head.

"What is it this time?"

"He thinks we're takin' in too many people. Says if Hershel and the girls stay for good he's leavin' and expects me to go with him."

Macyn stripped down to nothing and got under the covers of the bed. Daryl smirked and shut the door to their room.

"Would you go?" Macyn asked.

Daryl stripped down also and slid onto the mattress next to her. He kissed her softly and asked, "Now, how am I supposed to even think about leavin' when this beautiful girl is waiting in bed for me every night?"

Macyn giggled and kissed him again. "That's the answer I was going for."

They wasted little time with foreplay. Daryl was just as anxious to be inside her and Macyn was to have him inside her. Daryl leaned back against the wall; Macyn straddled his lap. She pushed herself slowly down onto him, and Daryl gripped her hips to begin them in a slow, smooth rhythm. As they went on, their pace increased. Daryl kissed the valley between her breasts as she moved over her before giving attention to each of her breasts.

Macyn couldn't believe it could be like this. The desire to be with a man intimately was not something she had experienced for quite some time before Daryl, and now it was like she wanted him all the time. Especially like this, when he teased her along with licks and kisses, but she ultimately had control of their movements.

When Daryl's ecstasy reached its peak and he began to fill her up, it pushed Macyn over the edge. They clung to each other, trying to keep quiet but unable to rein in the occasional moan. Daryl pushed her back so that he was now on top of her and slowly thrust into her a few more times before it was all over.

When they were settled in for sleep, chests still heaving, Daryl pushed the hair behind her ear and kissed the tip of her nose. "I couldn't leave you, Macyn. It took me far too long to find you to ever think about leavin'."

A sleepy smile crept across her face as her eyes fluttered closed. She rolled to her side and nuzzled against his neck. Daryl let himself enjoy the deep, even rise and fall of her breathing before finally giving in to sleep himself.

.&.

Macyn was dressing the next day when Lori politely knocked on the door. "Mind if I come in?"

"Of course I don't mind. Everything all right?"

Lori swallowed. "I need to ask you something and I need you to not tell anyone I'm asking you."

Macyn nodded. "All right."

"In the stock of medical supplies, are there any – do you have a pregnancy test?"

Macyn frowned before her eyes grew wide with realization. She shut the door before answered. "Lori, you're pregnant?"

"I'm pretty sure. I just need the test to confirm."

"Does Rick know?"

Lori shook her head.

"Okay. This is between you and me – consider it doctor-patient confidentiality. I'm going to put the test in the box of tampons under the sink in the bathroom. I'm going to do it right now, so you need to be right behind me if you don't want anyone else to suspect."

Lori stopped her by the arm before Macyn could leave the room. "If I'm pregnant, and I have the virus, the baby has the virus. Which means, if I miscarry this baby –"

"Stop right there," Macyn ordered her. "You lucked out. Y'all found me. I'm not only a doctor, I'm a surgeon, and I did my OB/GYN round before everything went to shit. You're not going to die and unless Heaven has something to do with it, your baby isn't going to die, either."

Lori closed her eyes and nodded, letting the words sink in. This was happening, and she just had to accept it. Macyn slowly removed Lori's hand from her arm and went to complete her task.

It got Macyn thinking though. What if she got pregnant again? Of course having Daryl's baby would be far more wonderful than having Willy Slater's baby, but dare she bring a child into this world? A baby would give away their location, and she couldn't very well keep the child inside all the time. If, God forbid, something happened to the baby, Macyn knew she would never be able to live with herself. That alone would more than likely spur a chain of events she didn't dare imagine.

She was waiting just outside the bathroom door when Lori came out, tears streaming down her face. Macyn could tell they were not tears of relief; neither were they tears of joy. Lori was pregnant, and the baby would come. There was no stopping it. Macyn ushered Lori back to her room to give her some counsel on taking care of herself.

"Obviously it isn't going to be a good idea for you to go on runs or hunts. Limit your time outside," Macyn advised. "Anything too strenuous could cause the baby harm – and I don't think I need to tell you what that could lead to."

Lori shook her head. "No, you don't. I'll tell Rick tonight."

Macyn could see the other woman was terrified at the thought of telling her husband about the impending arrival. Kneeling down, Macyn offered up a smile to Lori. "He's going to be elated, Lori. You two got another chance, and now you'll have this beautiful life to add to it. Carl is going to be an amazing big brother, and, I promise you, we're all going to help. That baby is going to have more love than it will know what to do with."

Lori grabbed her up and hugged Macyn as though her life depended on it. "Thank you, Macyn. For everything."

"It's my pleasure."

.&.

"I'm going to let them stay."

Daryl's head snapped to attention. "Are you sure about that?"

Macyn nodded. "I'll talk to Hershel in the morning. Daryl, how can I send them back out into that world with nowhere to go? We have resources, and once those run out – we'll find a way. We have so far, we will then. Maybe things will be different then."

"What made you decide that?"

She shut the door and went to sit on the bed next to him. "Lori, actually. You can't tell anyone yet, but she took a pregnancy test today and it came back positive."

"You're fucking kidding me …"

"I'm not. I got to thinking – what if it was me? What if I had carried that baby to term, or what if you and I … it could happen. If I was pregnant, I would want to know that my baby had as many good people around it as possible so that it was taken care of, with or without me. We have no guarantees anymore, Daryl. Food, water, weapons – yes, all of that is important. But, when it comes down to it, we need people, too. I have no blood kin left. You just have Merle. Humans weren't meant to live that way. We have to build a new family, and this is how we make that happen."

"I agree with you that Hershel and his girls are good people. Can't say I'm overly-concerned about Lori carryin' a baby, but some people are going to be. She tell you about Shane?"

Macyn nodded. "Shane's gone. It's Rick's baby, regardless."

Daryl let out a deep breath. "It's risky."

"What isn't anymore?"

He just shook his head. "You're going to have an answer for everything I say, aren't you?"

"I am a genius," Macyn smirked back at him. "Everything's goin' to be just fine, Daryl Dixon. Meeting you showed me that. Showed me there's still good people in the world who ain't just out for themselves. I gotta pay that forward, and that's what I'm doin' for these people."

Daryl kissed her. "This is why I love you, Macyn Ballard. People are eating people, killing each other to stay alive, but you still don't put yourself first. Even when Willy beat the shit out of you, you worried about him turnin' on the rest of us. You were going to give your life up for me. That takes a lot anyway, let alone now. I suppose we ought to tell the others?"

"I'm going to, at dinner. I can't imagine everyone's going to like it, but it isn't really up for discussion."

.&.

At the dinner table, everyone knew that something was about to happen. The only sound was forks clinking against plates and glasses being set back on the table. Finally, once everyone had a chance to get some food in their bellies, Macyn stood.

"Just want to stay how great it's been havin' y'all here. The Grimes, Andrea, Carol, Glenn, Daryl – you've been the first real family I've had since my brother died. Kind that look out for each other and protect each other. Y'all took care of me, and, like I said to Daryl earlier, I need to pay that forward. Hershel, it's been a pleasure having you and Maggie and Beth here. It would be an honor to have the three of you join our family."

Hershel stood then and accepted her offer. "We couldn't have come across a more welcoming group of people – of friends, and now family. We're happy to do our part to keep the shelter a home we can all enjoy and be safe in."

"Now just wait a minute," Merle spoke up. "Shouldn't this be a group matter to discuss?"

Macyn glanced at Daryl; there was the dispute she had been expecting. "Well, sure, we can discuss it. What would you like to say, Merle?"

He met eyes with everyone at the table. "Ain't no use. Y'all have already decided. It's fine. I just hope you're ready for what's comin' next."

Daryl stood to catch Merle as the latter man walked away from the table. "What do you mean, what's coming next?"

"You'll figure it out. Hopefully sooner rather than later."

He pushed Daryl's hand away from his arm and headed for the door at the top of the stairs. The rest of them all exchanged glances; what could possibly be coming next that was worse than anything they had seen up to this point?


End file.
